Snag in Mumbai’s Harbour line; several trains halted

Though the services resumed, they are being operated with speed restrictions.

BL 10-8-2005 ( Photo to go with shyam story) Commuters tring to go to their offices at Goregoan station in Mumbai as the train arrived late due to shortage of train as the suburban service was affected by the recent flooding due to rain in the city. Photo By Paul Noronha

Services on the Harbour line of the Mumbai suburban network were disrupted on Thursday morning due to technical problems with the overhead equipment (OHE).

Central Railway (CR) officials said that the fault was reported around 6.50 a.m. between Sewri and Wadala Road stations. Due to the snag, services were halted between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Wadala Road stations.

Commuters holding Harbour line tickets were permitted to travel on the main line between Kurla and CSMT. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) also ran five extra buses on existing routes to ease commuters’ woes.

The issue was resolved after a few hours and services towards CSMT were restored around 8.28 a.m. and services from CSMT were restored at 9.25 a.m., but with speed restrictions.

Several trains have been reported to have been cancelled due to the snag as the stoppage of services had a cascading effect on the entire system.

Commuters took to social media to vent their anger as several of them claimed they were stranded at stations with no announcements about the issue or the state of trains. Even after services resumed, the trains were reportedly too crowded for people to enter.