Mumbai rain disrupts bus train and flight services
Mumbai’s transport lifelines came under strain on Saturday as relentless overnight rain left arterial roads flooded, bus services diverted, suburban trains slowed and flights disrupted. The city woke up to widespread waterlogging that tested not just commuters but also the resilience of its infrastructure.
Public bus services bore the immediate brunt, with the city’s transport authority forced to reroute over 50 services after waist-high water was reported in several pockets, including Antop Hill and Goregaon. Some buses remained stranded in submerged stretches, compounding morning rush-hour delays. Officials confirmed that diversions continued until the waters receded, underlining how quickly heavy showers can paralyse surface mobility in Asia’s densest metropolis.
Suburban rail services, the city’s backbone, also stuttered. Central Railway reported the cancellation of 28 services during the morning peak after tracks were inundated between key junctions. Precautionary speed restrictions slowed Harbour Line trains by up to 20 minutes, while services on the Main Line ran nearly the same margin behind schedule. Passengers reported severe overcrowding at several suburban stations as timetables collapsed under the strain.
Road traffic was no less chaotic. Subways in Andheri, Malad and Kurla were shut after flooding, forcing vehicles onto already choked highways. Both the Eastern and Western Express Highways saw bumper-to-bumper traffic lasting hours, with social media flooded by commuter complaints about the gridlock. Authorities maintained that with a red alert still in place, citizens should avoid non-essential travel. City police shared helplines and urged caution, warning of both waterlogging and reduced visibility across major corridors. Air operations, too, were hampered. Aviation authorities confirmed at least 15 go-arounds between midnight and dawn as aircraft were unable to land on the first attempt due to low visibility and wet runways. Two flights were diverted after being unable to hold longer over Mumbai’s congested airspace. The disruptions underscored how extreme weather increasingly tests aviation resilience at an airport already operating beyond design capacity.
Urban planners warn that these disruptions are symptomatic of deeper issues: inadequate stormwater drainage, shrinking natural catchment zones, and unchecked concretisation. Experts argue that Mumbai’s rainfall is no longer unusual; what is unusual is the city’s inability to channel it away safely. They advocate investments in modern drainage networks, rainwater harvesting and ecological buffers such as mangrove protection to create long-term resilience. For commuters, however, Saturday was yet another reminder of the city’s vulnerability to seasonal downpours. As climate change makes rainfall more erratic, the challenge for Mumbai will be whether its infrastructure can adapt quickly enough to protect mobility, safety and the rhythm of daily life.
