18-hour block to leave 14,000 in the lurch

Around 14,280 Mumbai passengers will be affected due to the cancellation of outstation trains as a result of the 18-hour block on the Central Railway (CR) planned for this weekend.

The block will be imposed between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) from Byculla on late Saturday night/Sunday morning from 12.10 am to 6.38 pm until Sunday evening. The CR will cancel 42 passenger trains criss-crossing between Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh as well as Madhya Pradesh due to the block, which is being imposed to demolish the 136-year-old Hancock bridge.

The bridge is located between Masjid and Sandhurst Road stations and is to be demolished after being deemed a safety hazard.

The CR had officially announced the block on January 7 and the move is expected to cost the railways a loss of '8 crore in passenger revenue, as well as parcel earnings. Passengers who had booked for these trains as early as four months in advance have been hit as a result of the cancellations. In addition, the trains that are being run will no longer come up to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and will now either terminate at Panvel Terminus or at Dadar.

“From the point of view of Mumbai, around 14,280 passengers who wish to go from Mumbai towards North India will be left without any trains, while the rest who are coming towards Mumbai will have to alight at Panvel and then make their way to the central and western suburbs, which is a daunting task,” said an official, on the condition of anonymity.

One of the major reasons for the block to be announced abruptly is that the Mumbai Marathon is scheduled to take place next weekend i.e. on January 17. Blocks for the Harbour line work will be imposed after the marathon, the official said.

“After the Mumbai Marathon we have a few blocks for the Harbour line work to convert the line to accommodate 12-coach trains,” added the official.

The CR will run extra services on the Harbour line so that commuters who wish to come up to CST can switch at Kurla from the mainline.