Several long distance trains were either cancelled or diverted or even short-terminated, while the operation of suburban trains was restricted on the affected line, after an eight-wheeler tower wagon derailed between Kasara and Umbermali stations in the small hours of Friday.
The derailment of an eight-wheeler took place between Kasara and Umbermali stations at 1.04 am during a midnight maintenance block from 23.40 pm to 1.10 am.
With the Kalyan-Kasara section hit by the derailment, the Central Railway operated the suburban train services between Kalyan and Asangaon. However, following an “rail roko” agitation resorted to by commuters at Vasind, the authorities ran the services up to Titwala from 6.05 am to 07.55 am.
At least four long-distance trains — Manmad-LTT-Manmad Godavari Express, Manmad-Mumbai-Manmad Rajyarani Express, Mumbai-Bhusaval Passenger and Mumbai-Manmad Panchvati Express — were cancelled, while eight long-distance trains were diverted via different stations.
Five Mumbai and Pune-bound trains were short-terminated at places like Igatpuri, Nashik Road, Manmad, while three trains from Mumbai--LTT-Gorakhpur Express, LTT-Darbhanga Express and Varanasi Kamayani Express—departed from Mumbai two to three hours behind the schedule.
Having taken up the track restoration work on a war-foot, the Central Railway personnel put back the 8-wheeler tower wagon that had derailed between Kasara and Umbermali, on the tracks in the afternoon.
“The traffic on the affected line was restored at 12.42 pm. The first train that crossed the affected section was 12132 Sainagar Shirdi-Dadar Express,” a CR spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, in a double whammy, thousands of commuters travelling by the Central Railway’s harbour line were inconvenienced in the peak evening hours of Friday, after the suburban services on the line came to standstill following the breakdown of a goods train near Kurla railway stations.
The stranded commuters had to walk along the tracks to reach the nearby stations and later head to their homes through alternative modes of transport. Efforts were on till late in the evening to restore the services on the affected Harbour line.