Delays continue on Central Railway locals three days after mega block

Mumbai: It has been three days since Central Railway (CR) carried out a 63-hour mega block for work at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Thane, but commuters continue to face disruptions in the suburban railway network.

Trains on CR were running late by 20-30 minutes on Wednesday due to the new signalling system installed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). Sources said the engineering team working on the signalling system is struggling to set the routes running towards CSMT, which caused the delays. There were also complaints about minor cracks being spotted on the newly widened platform at Thane station. Both works were done during the mega block over the last weekend.

Most trains were running slowly after Kurla and Parel stations. According to CR officials, there were temporary glitches due to the transition to electronic interlocking from route relay interlocking at CSMT.

Commuters were left frustrated following the third straight day of delays. “It has become a routine for us. Not a single day goes by without delays in train services. Even today, my trains were late by 15-20 minutes, which led to crowding,” said Siddesh Desai, who travels from Kalwa to Mulund for work.

According to CR officials, the new signalling system requires glitches to be corrected using computers, which the staff has been doing since its installation. There are over 3,700 cables and wires responsible for setting 278 train routes to and from CSMT that need to be checked for faults. These glitches allegedly impact the functioning of 79 signals and 75 crossover points at CSMT that are vital for smooth operations.

“In a new system, glitches do happen. People are on the job. For a major yard like CSMT, the system placed is huge. It takes time to stabilise and to correct any faults. These faults cannot be identified beforehand as they happen when actual train movement happens,” said a CR official.

Meanwhile, at Thane, the newly laid platforms 5-6 saw minor cracks at certain locations. “The platform was opened as soon as work was completed. The cracks appeared due to pressure. However, these areas were covered with jute bags and were rectified on priority,” said another CR official.

Platforms 5-6 at Thane station are one of the busiest, handling more than 300 suburban and mail/express trains. Widening of the platforms by 2-3 metres to a total length of 587 metres was done by placing 785 pre-cast hollow blocks of 1x1x1 metres, 0.5x1x1 metres and 1.5x1x1 metres. These pre-cast blocks reduce the chances of platform surface settlement. This was the first time such types of blocks were used for platform construction.

The massive 63-hour mega block started at 12.30 am on May 31 and ended in the afternoon of June 2.