The rail and road transport system of the city that never stops took a heavy pounding after Central Railway services crippled due to fire in signalling cabins at Kurla and Vidyavihar during the wee hours of Wednesday. Services will continue to be affected, as it will take two-three days to complete the restoration works.
Central Railway passengers woke up to a day of misery as services were cancelled or trains were stopped between stations for hours. The first impact was visible during the morning peak hours as those who boarded the locals from suburbs were left stranded. Even worse, passengers took the tracks to reach the nearby railway stations and find alternate arrangements through road. However, traffic snarls at eastern express highway and the Lal Bahadur Shastri road due to local train failure aggravated passenger’s woes. “I have come to Mumbai for the first time for an interview in the Shipping Corporation of India for the post of junior engineer. I got down from the train and came to the road only to realise that there is no option available,” said a helpless Ravindra (full name not known) from Chennai who was left stranded at Nahur.
Central Railway could run only 56 per cent of the total services by 2 pm. “It will take two more days to bring the entire situation to normalcy. We will gradually restore the services as per the restoration works,” said V. A Malegaonkar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway.
As signals were non-functional in Kurla-Vidyavihar area, Central Railway resorted to manual piloting of trains. Meanwhile, BEST buses were running packed and failed to provide succor to the aggravated citizens.
Commuters complained that it was a difficult task to find rickshaws and taxis.
At around midnight, fire broke out in Kurla and Vidyavihar signalling cabins.