Messy start to work week as Harbour Line services hit

The work week began on a disruptive note for Harbour Line commuters, as services were thrown into disarray for 20-25 minutes on Monday after a rail fracture was detected during peak hours, at 7.18am between Masjid Bunder and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). As a result, local train services on the harbour line were delayed by 30 minutes.

Railway officials said gangmen detected the rail fracture during peak hours, after which restoration began immediately and services were restored in an hour.

“There is a 10-15 minutes delay in services on Harbour Line due to technical issue between 7.18am and 7.24 am. The bunching will be resolved soon and services on Down Harbour line will be normalised and the inconvenience is regretted,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer (CPRO), CR.

Meanwhile, commuters were left fuming as they were late to work. “We were left stranded inside the trains for at least an hour. It is tough to wait inside trains in this heat. Rail fractures have become a common occurrence on Harbour Line,” said Ajay Katre, a regular commuter at Chembur railway station.

Another commuter said every weekend, railways operate mega blocks for the maintenance of tracks, signalling and other work and despite this, one or the other problem occurs and trains get delayed.

“Actually we don’t understand what work railways does on weekends, as we continue to face problems which makes us late to work. Railways claim trains are running on time but the ground reality is every day, trains are late by 10-15 minutes at the very least and sometimes, more than that,” added Roshan Thomas, a commuter.