MUMBAI: A series of incidents across the suburban rail network, including injuries at a station, a trackside fire and a signal failure, left Central Railway (CR) commuters facing a difficult time on Friday, and leading to delays on the main and harbour lines. The first incident occurred at Sion station around 10am, where three persons were injured after a quarrel among themselves within the station area. According to railway officials, the trio lost balance and fell beside the UP (CSMT-bound slow) track. As a safety measure, the OHE of both UP and DN tracks was temporarily switched off, affecting train operations in the section. The injured were rushed to hospital and their condition is stated to be stable. The injured have been identified as Afzal Chaudhari (36) of Govandi, Sachin Vishvakarma (21) of Nalasopara in Thane district, and Jainil Sayyad (25) of Kurla. In the second incident, Central Railway services were delayed on Friday evening after fire and smoke were reported from garbage lying adjacent to the tracks between Kalwa and Thane around 6.30pm. Railway officials imposed a caution order in the affected section while fire brigade personnel carried out dousing operations near the tracks. Train movements were regulated during this period, resulting in delays to suburban as well as long-distance services on the main line. Commuter inconvenience continued as harbour line services were also affected due to a signal and telecommunication failure between Mansarovar and Khandeshwar, during which four signals in both UP and DN directions went blank, leading to regulation of trains on the section. The cascading disruptions resulted in severe overcrowding at stations, particularly during peak hours. “I was stuck at Kurla station for nearly 25 minutes waiting for a train. Every service was delayed and platforms were overcrowded. There was no clear announcement on how long it would take,” said Rakesh Patil, a daily commuter travelling towards Dadar. Another commuter, Amit Raje, said trains were so overcrowded due to the delays that he decided not to board at all. “I stepped out of the station and took road transport to reach Matunga, even though it took longer,” he said.
