Mumbai suburban train passengers travelling for Ganeshotsav will get relief on Sunday as Central Railway and Western Railway have decided not to operate their regular daytime mega blocks. However, maintenance work on the fifth and sixth lines between Thane and Kalyan will continue from 9 am to 1 pm, with some services expected to be delayed and two Vasai Road-Diva MEMU services modified.
Central Railway said local train services on the main line, Harbour line, Trans-Harbour line and Belapur-Uran Port line will remain operational during the day. The decision to avoid a regular daytime mega block was taken in view of the large number of devotees expected to travel to public Ganeshotsav mandals for darshan.
The engineering and maintenance work between Thane and Kalyan will be carried out on the fifth and sixth lines. Because of the block, some mail and express trains will be diverted onto the fast line between Thane and Kalyan. Central Railway has indicated that local train services may consequently face delays of about 10 to 15 minutes.
The work will also affect the Vasai Road-Diva MEMU timetable. Train number 61003, scheduled to depart from Vasai Road at 9.50 am, will run only up to Kopar instead of Diva. Train number 61004, which normally operates from Diva to Vasai Road, will begin its journey from Kopar at 11.45 am rather than Diva.
As a result, the MEMU service between Diva and Kopar will remain cancelled during the affected period. Passengers travelling between these stations will need to account for the altered service pattern while planning their Sunday journeys.
Western Railway will have no daytime block on Sunday, according to the report. This will allow suburban services on that network to continue without a scheduled daytime maintenance interruption during a period when passenger demand is expected to rise because of Ganeshotsav travel.
The Thane-Kalyan maintenance block is limited to the fifth and sixth lines, while the main suburban corridors will continue to operate. Passengers using the affected MEMU services should check the revised departure points and timings before travelling. The maintenance work is scheduled to take place between 9 am and 1 pm on Sunday.
