On Monday, commuters in Mumbai experienced significant delays and cancellations across both Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) networks. WR was compelled to cancel 90 services due to cable damage during mico-tunnelling work at Borivali station, while CR cancelled 80 trips due to a malfunction in the newly installed signalling system at CSMT and speed restrictions at Thane for platform expansion.
The issues began early in the morning, impacting the first trains on both WR and CR around 4am. While WR resolved its issue by 1:30pm, CR anticipates a longer resolution time, estimating “four to five days” to rectify the signalling system.
CR officials explained that such glitches are not uncommon in new systems and attributed the delay to the complexity of the CSMT yard’s extensive infrastructure. The malfunction was caused by a cut signalling cable at CSMT, exacerbating the delays further. CR had already been facing problems since May 31 due to infrastructure upgrades, including platform widening at Thane and the shift to automatic signalling at CSMT. These disruptions affected fast corridor services, necessitating diversions to slow lines.
On WR, the signalling cable damage occurred during micro-tunnelling work for a cross-drain at Borivali station. Despite completing a significant portion of the work, the contractor inadvertently cut the signalling cable, resulting in signal failure and subsequent service disruptions.
The delays led to overcrowding at Borivali railway station and nearby Metro stations, prompting authorities to deploy additional services to alleviate the rush. Metropolitan commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee instructed the deployment of extra train sets on Metro 2A and 7 to accommodate the increased demand.
While WR resumed services after resolving the cable issue, CR commuters may have to endure a few more days of disruptions until the signalling system is rectified. These incidents highlight the challenges of maintaining and upgrading railway infrastructure to meet the growing demands of urban transportation.
