CR services hit again, thousands stranded

Pantograph breakdown on Kalyan-Karjat line holds up locals for over three hours

Desperate measure: Commuters walk on the tracks between Vitthalwadi and Kalyan station on Wednesday morning.

The Central Railway (CR) continues to struggle to provide seamless and hassle-free services to the lakhs of commuters every day. On Wednesday, services on the Kalyan-Karjat line were suspended for nearly three-and-a-half hours after the pantograph of a Badlapur-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) local train broke down.

The incident occurred around 8.28 a.m. after which the CR had to cut power supply to the overhead wires to enable restoration work, bringing a halt to all locals between Khopoli and Kalyan. Thousands of commuters were stranded in midsection and had to walk on the tracks to reach the nearest station. Several more were stranded at stations with no services running for hours.

Two women passengers suffered minor injuries and were sent to Kalyan railway hospital with ticket checking staff. They were given first aid and paid ex-gratia before discharge. The impact was felt across the Central Line, as all peak hour services originating from Karjat, Badlapur and Ambernath were suspended. Services from the Kasara line were running around 30 minutes late, but provided some relief to commuters.

Railway officials said the impact was severe as there are only two tracks between Kasara and Kalyan. “A failure leads to a complete disruption in services on Up and Down corridors. In other sections, such as between Kalyan and Thane, there are four to six tracks, which helps lessen the impact on the system,” an official said.

The CR had to arrange a diesel locomotive to clear the stranded local so that a tower wagon could be sent to repair the damaged overhead equipment. Shuttle services were run between Ambernath and Karjat, while special trains were run from Kalyan to the CSMT.

“In coordination with Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Transport, 12 pairs of buses were operated between Kalyan and Badlapur to clear the rush. We also gave halts to four long-distance trains at Dombivali, Thane and Dadar,” Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR, said.

The restoration work was completed and services were restored at 11.45 a.m..