Violent Protests as Trains Run Late on Mumbai's Central Line

Mumbai: Angry commuters poured onto the train tracks at the station at Diva, a Mumbai suburb, after trains began running late this morning during rush hour because of technical problems. Diva is one of the suburbs serviced by the Central Line.

The police struck the crowd with sticks to contain the protest, as stones were hurled at rail officials. Sources say three cars were set on fire in Thane, the district where Diva is located. By noon, trains were still not running on time.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he has asked officials to ensure law and order is maintained. "Have sent a State Minister to take stock of situation... I'm closely monitoring. We are working with Railway Ministry so that such incidents are not repeated again," he said.

Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted, "Very unfortunate for commuters to suffer on Central Rail. Directed GM to sort out the grievances ASAP. Diva to CST feasibility studied now."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Very unfortunate for commuters to suffer on Central Rail. Directed GM to sort out the grievances ASAP. Diva to CST feasibility studied now</p> Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) <a href="https://twitter.com/sureshpprabhu/status/550912649160957952">January 2, 2015</a></blockquote>

Passengers at Diva station say they are fed up with the frequent breakdown of services on the Central Line, which originates at Mumbai's main station, Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus, and connects the city to suburbs like Kalyan.

This morning, an overhead wire reportedly snapped, triggering sparking from a train that was approaching Diva, according to passengers. As the train came to a standstill, the schedule was thrown into disarray, with huge delays. Express trains had to be diverted to step in for regular trains. At least one motorman of a local train was injured in stone-throwing, the disaster control room office said.

Map of Mumbai Suburban Rail Network