The lifeline of Mumbai, that links the north and south part of the city, has come to halt after the Central Railway declared a 63-hour mega block this weekend, beginning at midnight on May 30. Commuters on Central Railway’s suburban and long-distance services are still experiencing disruptions due to the ongoing mega block for platform widening at Thane station.
The block, which began at midnight on Friday (May 31), has resulted in the cancellation of 72 Mail Express trains and 956 suburban train services from May 31 to June 2. Furthermore, many train routes have been altered during this period. The change will have an impact on the local train services as well as the work schedules of the millions of commuters who rely on them.
The Central Railway (CR) provides more than 1,800 local train services, including 66 AC services, daily over its four corridors (Main, Harbour, Trans-Harbour, and Uran) to over 30 lakh passengers.
What did the Central Railway say?
As per Central Railway, 930 suburban locals and 86 long distance trains will remain cancelled during the 63-hour mega block. Of these, the highest 545 suburban services and more than 35 long-distance trains will remain cancelled on Saturday. Amid the 63-hour block on the Central Railway, work is in progress for widening platform 5/6 at Thane station and extension of platform 10/11 at CSMT to accommodate 24-coach trains.
The mega block, which started at Thursday midnight, has affected the suburban services on CR’s main corridor, causing inconvenience to lakhs of office-goers. “This block will be beneficial for long-distance travellers as we will be able to run trains with 24 coaches, which were previously limited to 18,” according to Swapnil Nila, CR’s chief public relations officer.
The work of placing pre-cast RCC blocks was completed at Platform 5 of Thane station at 4.45 am on Saturday, the CR said in a post on X. The platform wall is being constructed, it added. “Four additional UTS counters have been opened at Dadar for short-originating trains for the convenience of the passengers. Bulk messages have been sent to all long-distance travellers whose trains are impacted in any way,” the CR said.
Besides the cancellation of trains, there will be short termination and short-orientation of suburban trains on Saturday and, hence, passengers are likely to face maximum inconvenience, officials said.
Which routes are mist affected by mega block?
The 36-hour block of CSMT service between CSMT-Byculla and CSMT-Vadala Road would see no train service from 12.30 am on June 1 to 12.30 pm on June 2. This will impact trains running on the UP and DOWN slow lines and fast lines between CSMT and Byculla (excluding), as well as trains running on the UP and DOWN Harbour Line between CSMT and Vadala Road.
The following routes are also impacted: the DOWN fast line from Thane (all crossovers), to Kalva (all crossovers), the UP fast line from Kalva (all crossovers) to Thane (all crossovers), and the UP slow Line from Kalva (including CSMT end crossovers) to Thane (all crossovers).
