A train struck the overhead equipment, causing cables to collapse, disrupting rail services on the Dahanu-Surat route for about twelve hours. Commuters experienced disruptions due to the cancellation or delay of multiple local and long-distance trains. An issue with the overhead wire system was identified as the cause of the catastrophe.

PALGHAR: After the Goa Sampark Kranti Express struck the overhead equipment (OHE) and caused more than 500 meters of wires on the rails between Dahanu and Vangaon station to fall, train operations on the Western Railway’s Dahanu–Surat section came to a stop for about 12 hours.

Tuesday night at 11 p.m., there was an incident that caused significant delays and problems for travelers traveling from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. In the morning, there were about twelve Mail/Express trains that were delayed in the UP direction. Twelve Dahanu local trains and seven main-line passenger trains were also canceled.

Beginning on October 27, train services up to Dahanu were already experiencing delays because of construction on the fifth and sixth railway lines at Khar and Goregaon.

On October 31, at around 11 p.m., there was an OHE breakdown at the Dahanu Road station. A Western Railway representative stated that train services on the down line were resumed at 10.25 am on Wednesday, with a 60 kmph speed limit. The up line was cleared for trains at 12.14 am. He also mentioned that this had no bearing on the suburban trains that run between Virar and Churchgate.

However, a number of long-distance trains as well as local trains between Dahanu and Virar were impacted by the overhead wire snapping. There was a line-up for every long-distance train on the up and down routes. All other suburban trains were cancelled until the afternoon, with the exception of the two up-direction suburban services, which departed from Dahanu late. Every long-distance train was operating behind schedule, and train movement in the upward direction began after 6 a.m.

The disrupted rail services affected a number of daily commuters to Mumbai who worked in the industrial towns of Boisar, Palghar, Dahanu, Bhilad, and Vapi. The passengers expressed dissatisfaction with the inadequate notifications of the trains’ arrival and brief stops. The incident was caused by “many spans of wire being broken and the high-reach pantograph possibly becoming entangled with the OHE,” a railway officer stated.

Source- Hindustan times