Central Railway megablock to hit Thane-Kalyan, Harbour line locals on Sept 13

A day before Ganesh Chaturthi, on Sunday, September 13, Mumbaikars and Ganesh devotees heading out for festival shopping could face disruption to local train timings. Central Railway has announced a megablock on the Thane-Kalyan route and the Thane-Vashi/Nerul route on this day, which will upset the schedule of locals on these routes. The railway has appealed to commuters to check the timetable before leaving home.

On the up and down slow lines between Thane and Kalyan, the block will be taken from 10:43 am to 3:53 pm on Sunday. During this time, slow line locals will be diverted to the fast line. This will cause an unusual change in local train availability and journey times at some stations. Some local services will be cancelled during the block and some may run late. This will directly affect passengers travelling towards Thane, Mulund, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Kanjurmarg and Kalyan, who will need to plan their travel accordingly.

There is also important news for passengers travelling from Thane towards Vashi, Nerul and Panvel. On the trans-harbour route, a block will be in place on both up and down lines from 11:10 am to 4:10 pm. During this time, up and down local services between Thane and Vashi, Nerul and Panvel will be cancelled, causing significant inconvenience for passengers on this route. However, local services on the Belapur-Uran route will continue to run as per the regular Sunday schedule, offering some relief to passengers on that route.

Since this Sunday falls just before the start of Ganeshotsav, Mumbai and its suburbs see heavy shopping crowds. Thousands of people step out to buy clothes, decoration items, puja materials and Ganesh idol-related goods. Local train frequency is already lower on Sundays compared to weekdays, and the megablocks announced by Central Railway on different routes are expected to add to passengers' difficulties. Some local services may run around 20 to 25 minutes late because of the block.

Commuters travelling by local train for Ganpati shopping or any other work are advised to plan their journey in advance where possible. Crowding is likely to increase during the block hours, so keeping some extra time in hand while heading out for essential work would be helpful. Passengers travelling on the Thane-Kalyan and trans-harbour routes in particular should check information on cancelled or altered local services, since stations are expected to be more crowded due to Ganeshotsav.

While Central Railway has announced a megablock, Western Railway has decided to cancel its scheduled Sunday block in view of Ganeshotsav, offering some relief to Western Railway passengers. With Mumbaikars expected to step out in large numbers for shopping on the eve of Ganeshotsav, the Central Railway megablock is likely to affect daily commutes. Commuters are advised to check the timing and routes of the Mumbai local megablock before leaving home on September 13 and plan their travel accordingly.