Update on Mumbai local trains: Central Railway will run a 63-hour mega block beginning at midnight on May 30.
930 local trains will be canceled during a 63-hour mega block that the Central Railway said. It will start at midnight on May 30. This massive block will make it easier to expand the platforms at two significant stations: Thane station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai.
This massive block is expected to expire around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. It is necessary for expanding platforms at Thane station and extending platforms at CSMT.
There will be delays during this time for the Central Railway, which normally runs more than 1,800 local train services every day over its four corridors (Main, Harbour, Trans-Harbour, and Uran). More than 30 lakh people have their commuting needs met by these services.
“A 63-hour mega block for the widening of platforms 5 and 6 (in Thane) will start from Thursday midnight while a 36-hour block for the works related to the extension of platforms 10 and 11 (at CSMT) will kick in from Friday midnight,” Rajneesh Goyal, divisional railway manager of Central Railway’s Mumbai division, stated at a press conference.
Platforms 5 and 6 in Thane will be expanded by 2-3 meters. Because of their limited width and handling of both mail/express and local trains, these platforms now have congestion problems.
According to PTI, the Central Railway plans to terminate 930 local train services, of which 161 will take place on Friday, 534 on Saturday, and 235 on Sunday. In addition, 444 suburban services—seven on Friday, 306 on Saturday, and 131 on Sunday—will be short-terminated by the Railways. 446 local rail services in all will leave from different stations, with 307 on Saturday and 139 on Sunday.
Long-distance trains are anticipated to be impacted during the block period in addition to local train services. Commuters are urged by the railways to take other means of transportation instead of local trains wherever possible.
Swapnil Nila, the head public relations officer of Central Railways, provided additional information regarding train cancellations. He stated that from Friday to Sunday, 956 suburban trains and 72 mail-express trains on the main and Harbour routes will remain cancelled.
The PTI article states that a number of suburban and postal express trains will also have short termini and originations from the stations in Wadala, Dadar, Thane, Pune, Panvel, and Nashik.
Nila continued, saying, “Suburban train cancellations are inevitable.” Therefore, we kindly ask that all businesses permit their employees to work from home or take any other feasible action to minimize the number of customers on these days.
According to Nila, the Railways have also asked the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) to provide additional buses for the comfort of passengers due to the high number of train cancellations.
“These blocks are necessary for long-term gains and infrastructure improvement. The Railway Administration kindly requests that passengers accept their inconvenience,” a statement from Central Railway stated.
