Battery theft brings suburban train network to halt for 1 hr

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Train services on the suburban network of Western Railway (WR) were disrupted for nearly an hour today following power failure caused by the theft of a battery box at Mahim Electric Sub-station, an official said.
Due to the theft of 18 batteries of 120 AH capacity kept in a box at Mahim Electric Sub-station, power supply to the network got snapped and train services were severely affected for more than an hour, said the WR official.
The power failure brought to a halt train services on both fast and slow corridors in Up and Down directions at around 11.18 am, causing hardship to thousands of commuters who were stranded at various places.

He said about 60 suburban services were cancelled and approximately 100 delayed on the suburban section. The electricity failure was rectified at around 12.23 pm after which the services resumed.
The batteries are mainly used for the back up and charging purpose after minor tripping or fluctuation in OHE (overhead power supply wire) and also to provide protection to the electric circuit.
A case of theft was filed by RPF and a probe was on.

"Efforts were immediately initiated to rectify the problem at various levels and overhead traction supply was restored by about 12.10 hrs," the WR official said.

Meanwhile, commuters slammed the WR authorities for not informing them about the technical problem and providing updates.
Social activist Anil Galgali tweeted, "Not only suburban train services of @westernrly collapsed today, bt information wing also collapsed. It once again failed to keep psngers informed.