A signal failure at Kanjurmarg and a separate dangling wire found on the overhead equipment between Mulund and Thane disrupted suburban train operations on Central Railway’s Main Line on Monday morning, forcing railway officials to regulate services under special safety procedures.
The signal failure was reported at around 9.30am after the Station Control Office reported that all lines at Kanjurmarg had gone down and the station’s signals had turned blank. The failure affected Kanjurmarg as well as the section between Vikhroli and Bhandup, where train movements were placed under regulation.
With the regular signalling system unavailable, trains were worked on A-board authority at Kanjurmarg and between Vikhroli and Bhandup. The fifth and sixth lines on the Bhandup–Vikhroli section were also operated under A-board authority. These arrangements require train movements to be controlled through specific authorisations while the normal signalling system is unavailable.
Railway officials introduced absolute block working between Vikhroli and Bhandup on the Down local and Down through lines. In the reverse direction, absolute block working was introduced between Bhandup and Vikhroli on the Up local and Up through lines. Under this system, train movements are regulated so that only authorised trains enter the affected sections.
The first trains to operate under the special arrangements were local train K39 on the Down local line from Vikhroli and train BL11 on the Down through line from Vikhroli. Details of the first trains to operate on the Up local and Up through lines from Bhandup were not immediately available. Trains were also authorised to operate under TD 912 authority.
A separate incident compounded the disruption when a wire of unknown source was found hanging from the overhead equipment on the Down local line between Mulund and Thane at around 9.23am. An overhead equipment block was granted at 10am to allow railway staff to remove it, and the wire was removed at 10.50am.
The report did not specify the exact time at which the Kanjurmarg signalling system stopped functioning. The cause of the failure, the restoration time and the point at which normal train operations resumed were also awaited. The two incidents affected train movements on the busy suburban corridor while railway officials continued to work under the temporary operating arrangements.
