Downpour hits train traffic at Kasara Ghat near Mumbai

Three trains which were stuck in the Kasara Ghat section were taken to Igatpuri, while the CR also arranged buses of the MSRTC, the state transport undertaking, for stranded passengers

The train traffic between CSMT in south Mumbai and Kasara station of the Central Railway (CR), over 100 km away, resumed on Thursday afternoon, 17 hours after a part of the track was washed away due to torrential rains, an official said.

The traffic of long-distance trains would take some time to resume and buses have been arranged to ferry the stranded passengers, he added. Train services between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kasara were restored around 3 pm, said Shivaji Sutar, chief spoksperson, CR.

The track near Umbermali station in the Titwala-Kasara section which had been washed away was restored about 11 am, but since the Kalu river was flowing above the danger mark, operations in the section could not be resumed immediately, he said. As it rained heavily through the night, incidents of mudslide and boulder fall were reported at five or six locations in the 14 km Ghat (hill) stretch between Kasara and Igatpuri.

Trains for North and East India from Mumbai travel through the Kasara Ghat. One Poclain excavator, two JCBs, 12 boulder wagons and around 210 workers were deployed along the Ghat since morning to restore the operations, the CR spokesperson said. "The ghat has no approach road. It was raining heavily and damage at various locations made operating the machines more difficult," Sutar said.

The train traffic on the Down and Up line is likely to be restored by evening, while the middle line will take some more time, he added. Three trains which were stuck in the Kasara Ghat section were taken to Igatpuri, while the CR also arranged buses of the MSRTC, the state transport undertaking, for stranded passengers. As many as 29 buses took 1,290 passengers from Kasara to Kalyan while 44 buses were arranged for taking 2,860 passengers from Igatpuri to Kalyan.

Suburban train services of the Central Railway were operated only up to Titwala and Ambernath stations in Thane district from the CSMT in south Mumbai since Wednesday night. Operations from Titwala to Igatpuri in Nashik district and Ambernath to Lonavala in Pune district were suspended on late Wednesday night.

Around 10.15 pm, the CR suspended the traffic between Titwala and Igatpuri following heavy water-logging on tracks near Umbermali station. Later, at 12.20 am, the CR suspended traffic between Ambernath and Lonavala section as flooding took place near Vangani station, about 90 km from Mumbai. Kasara recorded around 138 mm rainfall in four hours from 9 pm on Wednesday, while Lonavala and Karjat recorded 142 mm and 129.1 mm rainfall from midnight till 7 am on Thursday.

The CR's suburban services on the Harbour, Trans-Harbour and Belapur-Kharkopar lines were running as per schedule. Local train services on the Western Railway route were also affected due to track changing point failure at Churchgate in south Mumbai early Thursday morning, a spokesperson said. The problem was resolved around 7.30 am and operations were restored.

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