Mumbai's weekend megablock: 63-hour disruption as Central Railway (CR) cancels 930 local trains

MUMBAI: Central Railway (CR), which will cancel 930 local trains from Friday to Sunday, has issued letters to BEST in Mumbai and TMT in Thane to provide additional bus services during the period, and appealed to transport union leaders to ensure maximum deployment of autos and taxis, especially around station areas. It has also requested Western Railway not to have a megablock during the weekend and operate as many services as possible to provide alternatives for travel between the suburbs and the island city.
“We’ve asked traffic police to deploy additional personnel.It’s possible for more people to use cars, which could clog roads,” said CR’s chief spokesperson Swapnil Nila. “We will ask MSRTC for more bus services up to Kalyan and beyond.” At Thane, blocks will be taken on the Kalyan-bound fast line and the CSMT-bound slow line. The CSMT upgrade is for lengthening platforms 10 and 11 to accommodate 24-coach long-distance trains; right now, only 18-coach trains can be accommodated. The Thane upgrade is for widening platform 5, which handles fast locals and mail/express trains.

“Such construction, including of platform walls and floor, typically takes about six months. But to minimize disruption to train schedules, we have planned a continuous short-duration block of 63 hours,” said a CR officer. The rapid construction will be undertaken with advanced technology and methods, including the use of modular platform construction techniques with pre-cast blocks. “This will be a first for Indian Railways,” said the officer. “The method also involves relocating rails, overhead wires, and equipment to create space for the platform extensions.”
Expressing dissatisfaction at the arrangements, Rail Yatri Parishad chairman Subhash Gupta said, “We have packed trains every weekend, even on Sundays. WFH on such short notice is impractical. The state govt and BMC should pitch in.”
CR will also use the block to switch from mechanical to electronic interlocking. “We have also undertaken all major civil and OHE (overhead equipment) upgrades and only signalling upgrades are pending,” said a CR officer.