Trains on the Western line of the city’s suburban rail network came to a halt on Monday morning following the theft of 18 electric batteries from the Mahim electrical sub-station. As many as 60 trains were cancelled and 100 trains delayed. Although services were restored within an hour, trains continued to ply late throughout the day.
According to Western Railway authorities, the problem started at 11.18 a.m. when an overhead electrification circuit near Dadar station faced a technical glitch; the incident was subsequently linked to the theft of batteries. Services between Dadar and Churchgate were delayed for a minimum of 30 minutes, and were restored in an hour.
Commuters stranded on stationary trains jumped on to the railway track and trekked in the rain to the nearest station even as the number of people waiting for trains at stations kept mounting.
Western railway Chief Public Relation Officer Ravindra Bhakar said the delay buffer was covered within 45 minutes; however, commuters reported that services remained sluggish four hours after the initial lag.
“Trains going from Andheri and Borivali were late by at least 45 minutes. People were clueless about what was happening. After some time they announced that a wire broke at Dadar, due to which the trains were delayed. There should be proper and timely announcement in such situations, which was lacking,” said Ravi Doultani, a commuter. Another commuter at Borivali station said Churchgate-bound trains were not going beyond Borivali. “We were confused, and there was chaos at the station. Nobody knew what was going on. After a few minutes, announcements were made that the trains would be leaving for Virar instead of Churchgate,” a commuter said.
Trains were stranded between stations and commuters were seen crossing the tracks to board taxis and buses. Extra buses were deployed by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport between Dadar and Churchgate for the commuters.
Agencies reported that suburban traffic on the two fast and two slow corridors between Churchgate and Virar was affected, besides the fifth corridor used mainly for long-distance trains.
A case of theft of batteries has been registered by the Railway Police Force and investigations are on.
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
