Mumbai rains: Local train services on harbour line restored after 15 hours

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Local train services on the Central Railway's harbour line were restored by 3 am on Wednesday, more than 15 hours after Mumbai's lifeline was halted due to the subemergence of tracks following heavy rains, officials said.

All public transport services in Mumbai, including local trains, resumed normal operations on Wednesday morning, a day after the torrential rains crippled normal life, they said.

According to Swanil Nila, chief public relations officer of the Central Railway, the harbour line services were fully restored after the water receded from tracks at 3 am. The services were suspended at around 11.15 am on Tuesday. 

The submergence of tracks after heavy donwpour prompted the railway authorities to suspend the train operations first on the harbour line and later on the main line of the Central Railway before noon on Tuesday.

The main line operations, between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai and Thane stations, resumed from 7.30 pm on Tuesday, but the harbour line, which connects Navi Mumbai to south Mumbai, remained suspended even after midnight.

In some sections of the harbour line, tracks went under 15 inches of water.

"Currently, services are plying on all the lines," Nila said.

"IMD has predicted heavy rainfall in the Mumbai region. Passengers are advised to travel only if essential and exercise caution," divisional railway manager of the Central Railway's Mumbai division appealed in a post on X.

The Western Railway authorities said some suburban services were going to remain cancelled due to heavy rain and waterlogging faced by the city on Tuesday.