Mumbai: Commuters on the Western Railway (WR) experienced a difficult start to the week as local train services were disrupted on Monday morning due to a technical failure at Borivali station. The issue, which occurred at 2 am, has persisted for over seven hours. WR authorities informed the public about the situation at approximately 7.30 am through social media posts.
According to WR officials, the technical issue involved cut cables, resulting in the current non-operational status of point numbers 107/108, 111/112, and 131/132. Consequently, suburban trains are not being operated from platforms 1 and 2 of Borivali station.
A point is a crucial section that allows trains to switch rail lines and is essential at stations with multiple platforms. “Trains are being operated from platform numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 at Borivali station. Point numbers 107, 108, and 111 are being clamped, and restoration work is ongoing on a priority basis to restore normalcy,” said a WR spokesperson.
The official X handle (formerly Twitter) of the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Mumbai, WR, posted at 7.32 am, stating, “Passengers kindly note: Due to a technical failure at Borivali station, all slow suburban trains are running late by 15 to 20 minutes. The inconvenience caused to passengers is deeply regretted.”
Rail commuters complained about overcrowding at Borivali and Kandivali stations and delays in trains of up to 30 minutes. Trains coming from Virar towards Churchgate were also running late due to this problem.
Over the weekend, WR authorities had cancelled the mega block between Churchgate and Mumbai Central stations as the Central Railway was carrying out a massive 63-hour block at Thane and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) stations for upgrading infrastructure. However, they undertook work to replace a steel girder with a sturdier pre-stressed concrete (PSC) slab at Bridge number 90 on the Virar-Vaitarna section. A block was undertaken from 12.20 am to 6.20 am on the intervening night of June for this purpose.
