Mumbai Harbour Line local trains were delayed by up to 25 minutes on Saturday morning after a piece of cloth became entangled above the overhead equipment wire at Sewri railway station, disrupting services towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
The incident occurred around 9.44 am on platform 2, affecting train movement on the up line. The foreign object caused services to bunch together, railway authorities said. Staff attended to the problem and removed the object, allowing normal operations to resume by 10.13 am.
The disruption added to a difficult week for Central Railway’s suburban network, which carries more than 40 lakh commuters daily. Saturday’s incident was the fourth reported disruption affecting the railway zone’s local services during the week.
On Monday, a suspected fire in the signal relaying room at Kanjurmarg disrupted train operations. The incident led to the cancellation of 70 local trains and 15 mail and express services. Several trains were delayed by up to 90 minutes, while reduced frequency resulted in overcrowding at stations.
Three commuters also lost their lives during separate alleged trespassing incidents at Bhandup and between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli while the network was affected. Although train services were restored, delays of 15 to 20 minutes continued on Tuesday.
A further disruption occurred on Wednesday when a goods truck took longer than expected to cross the railway level crossing at Tilak Nagar. The obstruction held up a CSMT-bound local for nearly 20 minutes and triggered additional delays of up to an hour on the Harbour Line.
The Sewri incident was resolved within about half an hour of being reported. Railway authorities restored normal operations after removing the cloth from the overhead equipment wire, with the immediate disruption ending at 10.13 am.
