Mumbai: Central Railway services went haywire for the most part of the day following two incidents, including a fire at a signalling hut, Monday morning. Eighty local services — 60 on Main Line, 20 on Harbour Line — were cancelled and those running were delayed by 70-90 minutes, which affected long-distance trains too.Thousands of commuters were stranded in stationary trains for up to 90 minutes, while some walked along the tracks as services operated intermittently on adjoining lines. A 21-year-old Mulund resident, Sahil Thite, died after being hit by a local train while crossing the tracks at Bhandup station. Two people were found dead on tracks between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli stations Monday evening. Police were yet to confirm the cause of their deaths.The CR disruption hit internal semester exams at a few colleges. As students struggled to reach on time, colleges rescheduled the exams. Commuters scrambled to find alternatives to reach their destinations by autorickshaws, buses and Metro on the first day of the week.“A signalling failure occurred at 9.33am after a fire broke out in the signalling hut at Kanjurmarg. Around 24 signals went blank across all six lines between Vikhroli and Bhandup,” said CR’s chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila. This came after a wire of unknown origin was found hanging from the overhead equipment on the Down slow line between Mulund and Thane at 9.23am.The breakdown affected both Main and Harbour lines. The latter also faced a shortage of train crews because personnel and resources were caught up in Main line operations.First, railway officials imposed a power block at 10am following the wire snag and restored the section at 10.48am. But by then, delays had already begun accumulating on the Main Line. Then, as signalling was unavailable following a fire, railway personnel introduced alternative operating procedures, including A-board authority and absolute block working on affected sections. Trains were allowed to proceed only after the prescribed safety clearances, reducing the frequency of movements and causing delays to accumulate across the network.The impact extended beyond suburban services, with both arrivals and departures of long-distance trains delayed as operational restrictions and cascading delays affected train movements, leading to packed platforms across stations.While all the signals were restored by 7.35pm, services continued to be delayed till late night.“An inquiry will be conducted to identify the cause of fire,” said Nila.Kurla GRP have registered a case of accidental death in the Bhandup fatality case. Police said Thite alighted from a train on platform 4, jumped onto the tracks and was attempting to reach platform 3 to board another local when a fast train hit him. He was rushed to a public hospital, where he succumbed to the injuries. Police said they have gone through CCTV footage but are yet to establish the circumstances that led him to cross the tracks.
