Commuters across India’s vast railway network are facing significant disruptions this summer season, with over 300 mail and local train trips either cancelled or diverted between June 1 and 2.
These widespread changes, attributed to essential traffic blocks for technical and maintenance work across various zones of Indian Railways, have left thousands of passengers deeply frustrated. This situation highlights the complex balance between crucial infrastructure upgrades and the immediate impact on public mobility, underscoring the need for enhanced communication and passenger-centric solutions to ensure equitable and reliable urban and inter-city connectivity.
The scale of the disruption is substantial, affecting multiple railway zones. Western Railway, a major arterial network, is implementing a significant 36-hour block, commencing from 13:00 hours on Saturday and extending until late Sunday/early Monday. Vineet Abhishek, Chief Public Relations Officer for Western Railway, confirmed that this “major block” is necessary for “some technical work,” resulting in the cancellation of approximately 162 trips – 73 on Saturday and 89 on Sunday. Additionally, several routes have been diverted, compelling suburban and mail express trains to operate on fast lines, further altering regular schedules.
Concurrently, Central Railway’s Mumbai division is also undertaking extensive mega blocks on its suburban sections on June 1 for critical engineering and maintenance work. This will see down slow services departing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Mumbai between 10:48 hours and 15:45 hours diverted to the down fast line between CSMT Mumbai and Vidyavihar Stations. These trains will make additional halts at Byculla, Parel, Dadar, Matunga, Sion, and Kurla Stations before re-diverting to the down slow line at Vidyavihar. Similarly, Down Harbour line services from CSMT-Chunabhatti/Bandra will be affected from 11:40 hours to 16:40 hours, and Up Harbour line services from Chunabhatti/Bandra-CSMT from 11:10 hours to 16:10 hours. An official from Central Railway stated that these blocks would impact around 88 local train trips on Sunday due to the technical work at these two sections, emphasising that these maintenance blocks are “essential for infrastructure upkeep and safety.”
The impact extends beyond the Mumbai metropolitan region. Northern Railways’ Bilaspur Division is also experiencing significant disruptions, with Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, CPRO, Northern Railway, confirming the temporary cancellation of six trains from June 2 to 5, and the diversion of two trains for five days (June 2 to 6) due to a traffic block. Further south, the South Central Railway will see two trains partially cancelled between Manmad-Parbhani Stations for maintenance. In the Southern Railway, the Chennai Central-Gudur Section will remain blocked until June 2, leading to the cancellation of 17 EMU and MEMU train services. Looking further ahead, the North Eastern Railways will also witness cancellations of at least 10 trains, with several others rescheduled or diverted, from June 24 to 30, and July 1 to 4, owing to ongoing construction work for the Karnailganj-Saryu-Jarwal Road-Ghaghra Ghat under the Gonda-Barabanki section.
For passengers, particularly those who have meticulously planned their summer trips and booked tickets in advance, these abrupt cancellations and diversions have created considerable distress. Many are now forced to navigate the arduous process of obtaining fresh tickets and rescheduling their entire journey, affecting not only travel timings but also pre-arranged hotel bookings. Moloy Tapodar, a frustrated traveller, articulated the widespread sentiment: “It is very painful for the passengers who have already booked their advance confirmed ticket and made proper planning for the trip and all of a sudden they got information about train cancellation. Of course, this act disturbs the planned schedule and affects several things.” Another passenger, Manisha, suggested a more forward-thinking approach, advocating for railways to publish project schedules and expected blocks in advance, thereby preventing bookings on affected routes or, if unavoidable, providing guaranteed confirmed tickets in exchange for cancelled ones. This collective frustration underscores the need for Indian Railways to refine its communication strategies and contingency planning, ensuring that vital infrastructure development proceeds with minimal inconvenience to the millions who rely on its services for essential travel and economic activity, contributing to the broader goal of resilient and human-centric urban living.
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