Mumbai–Pune rail traffic resumes on single line after 44-hour disruption due to heavy rain

MUMBAI: Train services on the Mumbai–Pune rail corridor resumed on a single line late on Monday night after remaining suspended for around 44 hours due to landslides at two locations in the Lonavala ghat section, even as Central Railway continued intensive restoration work to bring the remaining tracks back into operation.Rail traffic on one of the three lines in the Khandala–Karjat ghat section was restored at 10.30 pm on July 7, allowing the first trains to pass through the affected stretch under strict speed restrictions. Railway officials said restoration work on the remaining two lines is progressing on a war footing and they are aiming to reopen another line by late Wednesday, subject to weather conditions.The first train to use the restored route was the 11013 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Coimbatore Express, which crossed the section at 12.45 am on Tuesday at a restricted speed of 30 kmph.

It was followed by the 11041 Dadar–Sainagar Shirdi Express at 1.57 am. In the up direction, the first train to traverse the section was the 12702 Hyderabad–CSMT Hussainsagar Express, which passed through at 5.09 am.The Khandala–Karjat ghat section consists of three railway lines covering about 27 km each, forming an 81-km network through the steep terrain. Railway officials said the most severe damage was concentrated along a 12-km stretch between Thakurwadi and Khandala, where multiple landslides deposited large quantities of mud, rocks and debris on the tracks, disrupting one of the country’s busiest rail corridors.

More than 1,100 workers have been deployed round the clock to restore normal operations. The railway has mobilised a boulder special train, ballast rake, Unimat and Duomatic track maintenance machines, eight poclain excavators and 12 JCB machines for the restoration exercise. Special labour trains are transporting personnel to the inaccessible work sites, while workers have been provided with raincoats, gumboots, accommodation and meals to enable uninterrupted operations despite continuous rainfall.Apart from clearing debris and rebuilding the track formation, engineers are undertaking long-term slope stabilisation measures to improve safety. These include constructing gabion retaining walls along vulnerable slopes, restoring damaged Canadian rockfall fencing, carrying out rock bolting to secure unstable rock faces and filling 40 to 45 metres of washed-out embankment to strengthen the track foundation before the remaining lines are reopened.

Railway officials said services will continue to be regulated until all three lines are restored and declared safe for normal operations.