Mumbai’s Harbour line local trains delayed by up to 25 minutes after technical snag

Local train services on the Central Railway (CR) were disrupted for the fourth time this week after a technical snag on the Harbour Line on Saturday morning, with trains delayed by up to 25 minutes. The disruption occurred around 9.44 am when a piece of cloth was found hanging above the overhead equipment (OHE) wire at platform 2 of Sewri railway station.

The foreign object affected suburban train movement on the up line towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), causing services to bunch. Railway authorities attended to the issue and removed the object, restoring normal operations by 10.13 am.

Saturday's disruption comes days after a series of incidents affected Central Railway's suburban network, which carries over 40 lakh commuters daily. On Monday, a suspected fire in the signal relaying room at Kanjurmarg disrupted services, leading to the cancellation of 70 local and 15 mail and express trains.

Several services were delayed by up to 90 minutes, while reduced frequency led to overcrowding at stations. During the disruption, three commuters also lost their lives in separate alleged trespassing incidents at Bhandup and between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli.

Although services were restored, delays continued for 15-20 minutes on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a goods truck taking longer than expected to cross the railway level crossing at Tilak Nagar held up a CSMT-bound local for nearly 20 minutes, triggering further delays of up to an hour on the Harbour line.