All four suburban lines at Kanjurmarg in Mumbai, where a fire in the relay room had caused a signalling failure, disrupting train operations for several hours and resulting in hardship to commuters, were restored on Monday evening, Central Railway officials said.
The fire in the relay room and a wire hanging from the overhead equipment disrupted local train services on the Central Railway route during the morning rush hour.
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Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer, said that the down-fast line was declared fit for train operations at 4:10 pm, while the up-fast line was restored at 4:46 pm.
The down slow line was declared fit at 5:30 pm, followed by the up slow line at 6:18 pm, officials said.
Railway officials said that nearly 24 signals on all six lines including 5th and 6th lines that used for long distance trains operation, between Kanjurmarg and Bhandup stations were affected due to a fire in the signalling hut at Kanjurmarg.
Nila said they prioritised restoration of the signalling system on four suburban lines, while work was underway to restore the signalling system on the 5th and 6th lines. The work is expected to be completed within a few hours.
Meanwhile, the Central Railway has ordered a probe into the disruption of services.
Following the disruptions, crowds swelled at stations and inside trains on the first working day of the week. Suburban trains remained stalled on the tracks for more than an hour at some locations, commuters claimed. Several passengers subsequently got off and walked along the tracks.
The suburban timetable on the Central Railway's mainline, which connects south Mumbai with far-flung areas of Thane and Raigad districts in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and the long-distance train services were affected.
The Central Railway's mainline connects Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai to Kalyan in Thane district, where the route splits into two corridors, one towards Kasara in Thane and the other towards Khopoli in Raigad district.
A foreign wire was detected hanging from the overhead equipment (OHE) at 9.23 am on the down slow line between Mulund and Thane, at 31.14 km from CSMT, Nila had said earlier in the day.
An overhead equipment block was granted at 10 am to facilitate the necessary action. Suburban services on the affected line were restored after about an hour of efforts, he said.
Around the same time, a major signalling failure occurred at Kanjurmarg in Mumbai, further affecting mainline services.
Nila said a fire in the relay room led to the signalling failure. Further investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted after restoration, he added.
According to a Central Railway spokesperson, the signalling failure occurred at around 9.30 am, when all lines at Kanjurmarg were reported down, and signals went blank. This affected train operations at the station and on the section between Vikhroli and Bhandup.
Railway authorities introduced alternative arrangements to regulate train movements.
Trains were operated under a specific procedure at Kanjurmarg and between Vikhroli and Bhandup, the Central Railway said.
"Absolute block working" was introduced between Vikhroli and Bhandup for the down local and fast lines, and between Bhandup and Vikhroli for the up slow and fast lines. Train movements were also authorised under special authority, it said.
Later, services resumed on the specific routes, it added.
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A college student travelling to Churchgate in south Mumbai said, "An Ambernath to CSMT local train which arrived in Thane at 10.50 am was halted between Mulund and Nahur for one and a half hours. It departed Thane at 11.05 am and was later stuck between the stations."
Passengers were clueless as there were no announcements inside the train about the situation ahead, the student claimed.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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