Mumbai's Central Railways delayed after fire at Kurla

Mumbai: Mumbai local train services to the eastern suburbs and Navi Mumbai are facing massive delays after a fire broke out in an electronic signal panel in the eastern suburb of Kurla.

Officials say they believe the fire was caused by a short circuit. The fire gutted a signal cabin at Kurla station, affecting the electric and signal cabling network. The fire was brought under control a few hours later and there were no casualties.

Consequently, suburban and long distance trains were hit severely since early morning delaying thousands of morning office-bound commuters. Even trains headed out of the city were hit with at least four incoming and outgoing outstation trains being cancelled, a Central Railway official said

Meanwhile, trains on the Harbour Line have been diverted to the Central line and four long distance trains have been cancelled including the Godavari Express and the Pragati Express.

The Railway PRO said that only 70 per cent of trains will run on Wednesday. Engineers are hoping to rectify the problem, but fear that it could take at least 3 to 4 days to sort out the problem.

Central Railways said, “Efforts will be made to run as many services as possible during peak hours. The signaling system at Vidyavihar is restored and the signaling system at Kurla should be restored soon. All up mail/express trains have been provided a halt between Kasara and Kalyan only for the benefit of passengers.”

Meanwhile in an effort to ease the load, Central Railway has permitted season ticket holders to travel unhindered on either the local or long-distance or harbour line routes as a temporary measure, while the state government and BEST have been requested to deploy additional buses to clear the commuter and tourist rush.

Over four million people use the Central Railway suburban network daily.