MUMBAI: Local train commuters were frustrated as services on the city’s lifeline were disrupted on Monday with hitches on both WR and CR’s Main line from early morning, report Manthan K Mehta & Somit Sen. Thousands spent up to 3 hours travelling during the office-going period and tempers rose alongside the mercury.
Commuters, sweating in peak summer heat, complained they were clueless as “no announcements” were made about the delays caused by issues at Borivli station on WR and CSMT and Thane on CR (see box).As more people took to the roads, traffic on major roads were hit at several places. Commuter patience is running thin as the delays follow a trying 63-hour mega block on CR since Friday. The disruptions began even earlier on May 28, when a derailed freight train at Palghar hit WR.
Commuters are frustrated over regular delays and disruption in Central Railway (WR) and Western Railway (WR) services for the past one week. Freight train derailment at Palghar impacted WR services on May 28 and 29. This was followed by a 63-hour rail block at Thane and a 36-hour block at CSMT from May 31 to June 2. Monday’s massive delay in suburban services on both WR and CR similarly inconvenienced thousands of commuters who spent up to three hours to travel to their destinations.
On Monday, commuters complained of “no announcement” on trains or platforms about the delay. “We were clueless as we stood in a crowded compartment, sweating in the sultry weather,” said Vishal Shah, a businessman travelling with a few friends in a CSMT-bound local from Mulund on Monday.

Several commuters jumped on tracks after trains were stranded between Kurla and Dadar and also between Currey Road and Byculla stations. Those who spilled on the roads got no respite as there were traffic jams between Byculla and CSMT.
WR commuter Bhavan Shah said, “There were no trains in the morning for at least one to two hours from Borivali. No trains operated from 3, 4 and 5 platforms. Despite no trains for a few hours, announcements were made that trains were 15 minutes late.” Another commuter, Govind Ajmera, posted on social media: “Note that trains are running late by one hour, not 15 to 20 minutes. And I have been at Borivali station since last one hour but no train has started yet.”
A commuter who was stranded between Sion and CSMT for an hour and a half said, “I took a train from Kalwa station at 11.45am on Monday and reached CSMT at 2.30pm. I saw frustrated commuters jumping on to the tracks at various locations where the train stopped, like Sion, Matunga and Byculla. However, I chose to sit back in the train itself hoping that it would reach CSMT and taking the road would mean getting stuck in traffic.”
Borivali’s Ajay Shah said, “There was poor communication on the platform at Kandivli. I got on a train but it didn’t move for more than 35 minutes. Finally, I decided to abort my journey and took a road transport home.”
Jitendra Vishe, vice-president, Federation of Suburban Railway Passengers Association, questioned why the signalling system, which was upgraded just a day earlier, should fail, resulting in massive delays in services. Manohar Shelar from the Suburban Railway Passengers Federation said there was a need for railways to have ‘proper planning’ and ‘communication’ to ensure uninterrupted service. (With inputs from Richa Pinto)