Mumbai Trains Partially Restored Amid Outage, Commuters Walk On Tracks

The local train services in Mumbai came to a halt briefly today due to a power grid failure in the city, affecting millions of commuters who rely on the railway system. The power supply was hit due to Tata Power's incoming supply failure, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) said.

1/2. In view of interruption in Traction power at 10.05 hrs due to Grid failure of Tata Power company, services btwn Churchgate & Borivili are suspended. It shall be resumed as soon as traction power supply is restored.
Commuters are requested to cooperate @drmbct@RailMinIndia

— Western Railway (@WesternRly) October 12, 2020

2/2 However, Power supply, from MSETCL available at Vasai Road & it has been extended to work essential suburban trains between Borivili to Virar section

Efforts are on to start services in Churchgate-Borivali section.
Commuters are requested not to panic.@drmbct @RailMinIndia

— Western Railway (@WesternRly) October 12, 2020

#PowerOutage
Mumbai Suburban trains on CR held up due to grid failure. We will update ASAP. Kindly bear with us.

— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) October 12, 2020

The Central Railways later said its Harbour Line was restored around 11am and that its engineers were in touch with the power grid experts. In a tweet, it appealed to commuters to not panic and asked them to no walk on tracks.

Trains between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Panvel on Harbour Line resumed around shortly after 12 pm. We're trying to restore services between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kalyan, Karjat, Kasara, a Central Railway Public Relations Officer said. Long-distance trains from Mumbai have been rescheduled and incoming trains are being regulated, the official said.

The Mumbai local trains, often referred to as the city's lifeline, ferry an estimated 80 lakh people every day. Three distinct systems – the Central Line, Western Line, and the Harbour Line – together form the city's overall train commuter service.