Heavy rains and waterlogging caused disruptions on the Trans Harbor line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, stranding thousands of passengers between Thane and Navi Mumbai. Soil and ballast collapsed beneath the railway tracks between Turba and Kobarkhiran stations, raising safety concerns.
Central Railway (CR) officials said services were immediately suspended on the Turbhe-Koparkhairane section on the Trans-Harbour corridor. “The upper line was declared unsafe for train movement at 5:06 am, followed soon after by the lower line at 5:50 am, bringing traffic flow to a complete halt on the vital Thane-Vashi corridor,” an official said.
Emergency engineering teams were deployed to stabilize the track surface amid continuing rain. After urgent restoration work, the tracks were cleared for limited operations.
“The upper track was declared safe at 7:27 am with a severe speed restriction of 10 kmph on passing trains. The lower line was cleared soon after at 7:35 am, allowing local services to resume at a limited speed of 30 kmph,” said Swapnil Neela, CR’s chief public relations officer.
The hours-long disruption affected daily commuters, especially office-goers traveling between Thane city and IT hubs and commercial hubs in Navi Mumbai. Huge crowds waited on platforms across the aisle. Even after services resumed, trains crawled through the affected section, causing cascading delays of over 30 to 45 minutes across the network.
Waterlogging was reported between Kurla and Matunga on the main line, delaying train services by 10-15 minutes. Railway officials said teams are continuously monitoring the site to ensure structural stability.
The southwest monsoon arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday, 12 days after its usual start date, bringing relief from the sweltering heat. This was the third most delayed monsoon in Mumbai since 1951.
