Commuters walk on railway tracks in western India after bamboo structure causes train disruption
by Aditi VermaA major disruption in western India’s Maharashtra local train services early Wednesday morning forced thousands of commuters to walk along railway tracks causing significant delays.
The incident took place between Matunga and Sion railway stations in Mumbai on July 24.
Visuals showed after a bamboo tree fell onto the tracks, blocking the train route, all the passengers disembarked and started walking along the tracks. A large crowd of people could be seen walking together on the tracks.
The incident occurred around 7:25 am when a bamboo structure fell onto the high-tension overhead wire, leading to a stoppage in fast local train services on the Main Line. This disruption caused significant delays for thousands of office-goers and commuters.
Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway, explained that the bamboo structure was part of a construction adjacent to the railway line. “The power supply to the overhead wire had to be switched off for the safe removal of the debris. Train services on this line resumed around 8:20 am,” Nila stated.
Due to the disruption, many commuters opted to walk along the tracks to reach their workplaces, highlighting the challenges faced by daily travelers in the city. The power cut lasted nearly an hour, significantly impacting the morning rush hour.
The incident underscores the vulnerability of Mumbai’s extensive railway network to external disruptions and the importance of maintaining infrastructure safety to prevent such occurrences.
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