Mumbai: Harbour line commuters will have to wait longer for peak hour services to normalise as it will take at least a week to lift the 20 kmph speed restriction imposed between Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar (GTBN) and Vadala stations and more than a month to remove wagons from the site.
The 20 kmph speed restriction was put in place as gangmen were replacing sleepers on tracks whose alignment had been damaged when the trains smashed through them. An official said, “The combined weight of the wagons and pulses that were inside badly hit sleepers which is why damage has been quite severe. This coupled with the fact that sleepers are being replaced while services are being run regularly has slowed down speed of work and hence, the delay in lifting speed restrictions”.
Officials said that restrictions will be increased by Thursday partially and may take a week to be removed completely in that particular section. As a result, Panvel- and CST-bound harbour services have been delayed by 10 minutes and the same impact is expected in the evenings as well.
Commuters like Annapurni Hariharan (25) who lives in GTBN and travels all over the city for work said, “During rush hour in Mumbai, every minute counts and the trains were delayed by seven to eight minutes. At the same time, I could see railway workers changing sleepers so I hope that they finish the work as soon as possible and trains start running as usual.”
Additionally, three derailed wagons will remain at the site for at least a month. Chief public relations officer Narendra Patil said, “We cannot pick up the wagons from the site right now because railway has a procedure by which we first float tenders to send these coaches for scrap as they are never used again. Then we cut through the wagon, dismantle it and sell off as scrap. This is the procedure set by Indian Railway and we have to follow it, so wagons will be there for a while.”
