The Western Railway’s (WR) pre-monsoon measures in Nallasopara were put to test on Tuesday. A year ago, heavy rain stopped WR services for over 48 hours, but this year, despite the region receiving more rainfall, there were no disruptions.
Nallasopara had never figured as a chronic flooding spot on WR, but the flooding on July 9 last year took senior WR officials by surprise. All suburban services between Bhayander and Virar had to be suspended for over 24 hours and passengers on the Mumbai-bound Vadodara Express had to be evacuated with the NDRF’s help. Trains from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab were cut off from the city.
Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer, WR, said, “After last year’s experience, we took a series of measures and our efforts have borne fruit. This year, we were able to run services through the day.” WR’s key measures included lifting the track by 100 mm to 250 mm, building three new drains through micro tunnelling and raising a five-foot high wall across 4 km on both sides of the tracks to prevent entry of excess water. Mr. Bhakar said, “The water level on the tracks in 2018 was over 450 mm, while the rainfall was 550 mm. This year, the water level didn’t rise over 200 mm, despite the region receiving over 1,000 mm of rainfall in the last 72 hours.” He said WR also conducted an aerial survey using drones to ascertain storm movement and to devise solutions.
On Tuesday, WR ran one service between Vasai and Virar every 20 minutes to facilitate the movement of bunched up long-distance trains. Senior railway officials said the trains cannot move if there is over 150 mm water on the tracks. However, local trains can move with speed restrictions if the water level is up to 200 mm. At 11.55 a.m., speed restrictions were removed after water receded.
