Mumbai Trains Disrupted for 63 Hours Due to Platform Upgrades

Infrastructure upgrade alert: Mumbaikars are advised by Central Railway to limit travel as a 63-hour mega block will commence at midnight on May 30 for essential platform extension works on the Mumbai network. This major infrastructural effort is expected to disrupt local trains services, affecting the routines of many commuters. The works will take place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai and the Thane station, concluding at 3:30 pm on Sunday, as per Central Railway’s statement.

Central Railway’s post on X (formerly Twitter) urges passengers to minimize travel, highlighting the necessity of travelling only when absolutely unavoidable. Here are 10 crucial points regarding the mega block:

1. Both local and long-distance train services will be disrupted. Commuters are encouraged to avoid unnecessary travel.
2. A 63-hour block for widening platforms 5 and 6 at Thane will start at midnight on Thursday, while a 36-hour block for extending platforms 10 and 11 at CSMT will begin at midnight on Friday.
3. According to Rajneesh Goyal, divisional railway manager of Central Railway’s Mumbai division, the platform widening will facilitate the installation of escalators or wider staircases for the Foot Over Bridge (FOB).
4. Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer for Central Railway, announced that 72 mail-express trains and 956 suburban trains on the main and Harbour corridors will be canceled from Friday to Sunday. Several trains will be short-terminated or short-originated from stations like Wadala, Dadar, Thane, Pune, Panvel, and Nashik.
5. Nila also urged establishments to allow employees to work from home or use alternative methods to reduce passenger numbers during the block.
6. The railway has requested additional bus services from Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to assist commuters.
7. At CSMT, platforms 10 and 11 have been extended to accommodate 24-coach trains, up from the previous 16 coaches. The extension work is complete, but the block is needed for non-interlocking work related to track changes.
8. The Railway administration has apologized for the inconvenience, emphasizing the long-term benefits of these upgrades.
9. An official noted that typically platform construction takes six months, but for Thane, hollow pre-cast blocks are being used to speed up the process.
10. BEST has announced plans to run 254 extra services on nine routes with 43 additional buses during the mega block period, according to a release issued late Thursday evening.

Source: https://www.news18.com/auto/mumbai-train-services-to-be-disrupted-for-63-hours-from-may-30-heres-why-8909581.html

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