Just hours after passengers blocked railway tracks at Diva station to protest train delays, over 500 people residing in slums near Dombivali station, hit the tracks and blocked services on six rail lines between Thane and Kalyan
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Just hours after hundreds of passengers blocked the railway tracks at Diva station to protest train delays, over 500 people residing in slums near Dombivali station, hit the tracks and blocked services on six rail lines between Thane and Kalyan.
Demolition stalled
The protest that was held by slum dwellers to vent out their anger against the demolition drive planned by the Central Railway (CR) and Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation with the help of over 350 cops, affected services both towards the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Kalyan.
Sources in the CR said that the protestors even kept their footwear and utensils on the tracks to protest the demolition. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a CR official mentioned, “The protest started around 12.15pm and continued till 12.45pm, during which train services had to be cancelled.”
Also Read: Next time, think twice before you leap onto railway tracks in Mumbai
No development
According to CR officials, over 90 illegal slums in the area were the biggest hindrance in maintaining the tracks and rail infrastructure at Dombivali. “If people don’t want then we’ll not remove illegal settlements. But train services on the Thane-Kalyan stretch will further deteriorate if these slums are not removed,” said the official.
Speed restrictions
Meanwhile, the authorities managed to run one special train each between Thane-CST and Kalyan-Kasara-Karjat during the protest. Expressing their anguish, some railway officials said that if such incidents continue then it would be difficult to develop the suburban rail section.
They also mentioned about plans to implement certain speed restrictions on the stretch, which would eventually delay services. They further said that there were already 12-15 spots between Thane and Kalyan, where trains have to slow down.
According to sources, trains run late on the main line as the three level crossings at Thakurli, Diva and Kalwa are opened nearly 40 times everyday. Whenever a level crossing is opened, it eats into 10 minutes of the train’s running time, they said.
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