Heavy monsoon rain brought the busy rail link between Mumbai and Pune to a halt early on Monday. A string of landslides struck the Bhor Ghat section one after another, forcing Central Railway to cancel several trains, reroute many others, stop some short of their destination and reschedule a number of services. Because this is one of Maharashtra's most heavily used rail routes, the disruption left thousands of passengers travelling between Mumbai, Pune and nearby cities stranded and inconvenienced.
The trigger was the ceaseless downpour over the ghat section. According to Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Swapnil Nila, incessant rainfall in the South East Ghat stretch between Karjat and Lonavala caused one landslide on the Up Main Line between Thakurwadi and the Monkey Hill Loop Cabin. A second landslide was then recorded at around 3.05 am on the Middle Line between Khandala and Monkey Hill, throwing operations in the ghat section into further disarray.
Trains Cancelled Outright
The landslides forced the outright cancellation of several key passenger services on the corridor. The cancelled trains included the CSMT Pune Indrayani Express, Pune CSMT Indrayani Express, CSMT Pune Intercity Express, Pune CSMT Intercity Express, Solapur Pune Intercity Express, Pune Solapur Intercity Express, CSMT Pune Deccan Express, Pune CSMT Deccan Express, CSMT Pune Deccan Queen, Pune CSMT Deccan Queen, CSMT Pune Pragati Express, Pune CSMT Pragati Express, CSMT Pune Sinhagad Express, Pune CSMT Sinhagad Express, CSMT Dhule Express and Dhule CSMT Express.
Long Distance Trains Sent on Alternate Routes
Beyond the cancellations, Central Railway rerouted several long distance trains to keep them clear of the affected ghat stretch. The Ahmedabad Kolhapur Express and Ahmedabad Pune Duronto Express were sent to Pune via Kalyan, Igatpuri, Manmad and the Daund Chord Line. The Indore Daund Express also ran via Kalyan, Igatpuri and Manmad. The Bidar CSMT Express and Hazur Sahib Nanded Panvel Express were diverted via Daund, Manmad, Igatpuri and Kalyan, while the Charlapalli Indore Humsafar Express was rerouted through Daund, Manmad, Jalgaon, Paldhi and Surat. The LTT SMVT Bengaluru Express, Daund Gwalior Superfast Express and Chennai Egmore CSMT Mail were likewise put on alternate routes to keep disruption to a minimum.
Trains Stopped Short of Destination
With conditions in the affected section deemed unsafe, railway authorities short terminated a number of trains before they could reach their scheduled destinations. The Santragachi Pune Humsafar Express was ended at Panvel, and the Solapur CSMT Siddheshwar Express finished its run at Pune. The Hyderabad CSMT Hussain Sagar Express and Visakhapatnam LTT Express were halted at Lonavala. The Hosapete CSMT Express ended at Talegaon, while the Sainagar Shirdi Dadar Express, Hubballi Dadar Express and Kolhapur CSMT Mahalaxmi Express all terminated at Pune. The Hazrat Nizamuddin Pune Special and Dadar Satara Express were stopped short at Karjat.
Complete List of Affected Trains
Here is the full breakdown of every cancelled, diverted and short terminated service, listed by train number.
- 22105 CSMT Pune Indrayani Express, Cancelled.
- 12169 Pune Junction Solapur Intercity Express, Cancelled.
- 12170 Solapur Pune Junction Intercity Express, Cancelled.
- 22106 Pune CSMT Indrayani Express, Cancelled.
- 12127 CSMT Pune Intercity Express, Cancelled.
- 12128 Pune CSMT Intercity Express, Cancelled.
- 11007 CSMT Pune Deccan Express, Cancelled.
- 11008 Pune CSMT Deccan Express, Cancelled.
- 12124 Pune CSMT Deccan Queen, Cancelled.
- 12123 CSMT Pune Deccan Queen, Cancelled.
- 12126 Pune CSMT Pragati Express, Cancelled.
- 12125 CSMT Pune Pragati Express, Cancelled.
- 11010 Pune CSMT Sinhagad Express, Cancelled.
- 11009 CSMT Pune Sinhagad Express, Cancelled.
- 11011 CSMT Dhule Express, Cancelled.
- 11012 Dhule CSMT Express, Cancelled.
- 11049 Ahmedabad Kolhapur Express, Diverted, via Kalyan, Igatpuri, Manmad, Daund Chord Line, Pune.
- 22944 Indore Daund Express, Diverted, via Kalyan, Igatpuri, Manmad, Daund.
- 12297 Ahmedabad Pune Duronto Express, Diverted, via Kalyan, Igatpuri, Manmad, Daund Chord Line, Pune.
- 22144 Bidar CSMT Express, Diverted, via Daund, Manmad, Igatpuri, Kalyan.
- 17614 Hazur Sahib Nanded Panvel Express, Diverted, via Daund, Manmad, Igatpuri, Kalyan.
- 20915 Charlapalli Indore Humsafar Express, Diverted, via Daund, Manmad, Jalgaon, Paldhi, Surat.
- 16554 LTT SMVT Bengaluru Express, Diverted, via Karjat, Panvel, Kalyan, Kasara, Igatpuri, Manmad, Daund.
- 22193 Daund Gwalior Superfast Express, Diverted, via Lonavala, Pune, Daund Chord Line, Ankai, Bhusaval, Khandwa.
- 22158 Chennai Egmore CSMT Mail, Diverted, via Daund Chord Line, Ankai, Manmad, Igatpuri, Kasara, Kalyan, CSMT.
- 20822 Santragachi Pune Humsafar Express, Short Terminated, Panvel.
- 12116 Solapur CSMT Siddheshwar Express, Short Terminated, Pune.
- 12702 Hyderabad CSMT Hussain Sagar Express, Short Terminated, Lonavala.
- 18519 Visakhapatnam LTT Express, Short Terminated, Lonavala.
- 11140 Hosapete CSMT Express, Short Terminated, Talegaon.
- 11042 Sainagar Shirdi Dadar Express, Short Terminated, Pune.
- 17317 Hubballi Dadar Express, Short Terminated, Pune.
- 17412 Kolhapur CSMT Mahalaxmi Express, Short Terminated, Pune.
- 01492 Hazrat Nizamuddin Pune Special, Short Terminated, Karjat.
- 11027 Dadar Satara Express, Short Terminated, Karjat.
Check Running Status Before Leaving
Railway officials have urged passengers to check the latest running status of their train before setting out for the station, so that cancelled or delayed services do not catch them off guard.
Pune Mumbai Expressway Also Hit
The impact of the heavy rain went well beyond the railways. Traffic on the Pune Mumbai carriageway near the Khopoli Kusgaon section was diverted after a landslide occurred close to the exit of the Missing Link Tunnel 2. As a precaution, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) put the diversion in place from around 4 am.
Red Alert for Mumbai and Neighbouring Districts
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Red Alert for Mumbai, warning of extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds. The latest nowcast also covers Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts, where intense spells of rain along with wind speeds of 50 to 60 kmph are expected over the next few hours.
