Maharashtra: 6,000 passengers stranded as train services disrupted on Konkan Railway route

The Konkan Railway has a 756-km-long track from Roha near Mumbai to Thokur near Mangaluru.

Nearly 6,000 passengers were stranded as train services on the Konkan Railway route in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district were suspended on Thursday after a river overflowed following heavy rains in the area, officials said.

So far, nine trains have been regulated due to disruption of services on the route, they said.

Regulating trains means they have been either rerouted, short-terminated or cancelled.

Konkan Railway officals said these trains were at safe locations on different stations and the passengers in them were also safe and they were being provided food and water.

Water level at the Vashishti river bridge between Chiplun and Kamathe stations in Ratnagiri has risen above the danger mark after the heavy downpour, an official said.

"In view of the safety of passengers, train services in this section are suspended temporarily," he said.

Also read: Maharashtra: Heavy rains wash out rail tracks near Kasara Ghat; train services hampered

According to rail officials, 5,500-6,000 passengers were stranded in trains which were regulated at various stations on the Konkan Railway route.

The Konkan Railway informed that due to the flood situation at Chiplun, so far nine long distance trains have been regulated.

Out of these, the Dadar-Sawantwadi special train was regulated at Chiplun station and the CSMT-Madgaon Janshatabdi special train at Khed station.

Konkan Railway spokesperson Girish Karandikar said passengers in these trains were safe.

Despite several challenges, the Konkan Railway was providing food and water to the stranded passengers, he said.

"We have made arrangements to provide tea, snacks and water to all the stranded passengers," Karandikar said.

This is the second disruption on the Konkan Railway route in the last few days.

On July 19, train services on the route were suspended for a day due to seepage of water in the Old Goa tunnel near Panaji.

The Konkan Railway has a 756-km-long track from Roha near Mumbai to Thokur, located close to Mangaluru.

The route, spread across three states- Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka - is one of the challenging terrains, as it consists of many rivers, gorges and mountains.

Train services of the Central Railway in the Kasara Ghat section of Maharashtra's Thane district and near Lonavala hill town in Pune district adjoining Mumbai were also severely affected on Thursday after heavy rains caused flooding, washing out of tracks, boulder crashes and mudslides in that region, officials said.

(Inputs from PTI)

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