Mumbai local mega block: Train services to be hit for 63 hours, firms asked to allow 'work from home'

Mumbai local train services, considered as the lifeline of the city, will be affected due to a "63-hour mega block" starting from Friday, May 31. In view of the disruption, the Mumbai division of Central Railway has appealed firms to allow their employees to "work from home".

In a press conference on Wednesday, Rajneesh Goyal, divisional railway manager of Central Railway's Mumbai division, said the mega block will be imposed to carry out platform extension works on two of the busiest railway stations -- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai and the local station in neighbouring Thane.

At CSMT station, the widening activity will be undertaken on platform no. 10 and 11, whereas, the same would be carried out at platform no. 5 and 6 at Thane station, Goyal noted.

The extension of platforms is required to develop wider staircases of foot over bridges (FOBs) and to install escalators.

How many trains will be affected due to the mega block?

According to the Central Railway, a total of 930 local trains and 72 mail-express trains would be cancelled on the main and harbour line between Friday and Sunday.

On Friday, a total of 161 local trains would be cancelled, followed by 534 on Saturday and 235 on Sunday, the rail body said, according to news agency PTI.

Some of the long-distance trains from Dadar, Thane, Wadala, Nasik and Panvel stations would be short-originated or short-terminated by the Central Railway, the report added.

Notably, Dadar is also one of the key transit points of Mumbai local railway network, as those plying from central to western lines and vice versa change their trains from this station.

WFH appeal

In view of the 63-hour disruption, Central Railways chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila appealed to companies to allow their employees to work virtually.

There will be unavoidable cancellation of suburban trains. Hence, we request all the establishments to allow your staff to work from home or any other means possible to reduce the number of passengers on these days," PTI quoted Nila as saying.

Notably, Mumbai trains are frequented by lakhs of city residents on daily basis, primarily to commute to their workplaces. The city is seen as the financial capital of India, as it is home to some of the country's top private companies. The two main stock exchanges, the National Stock Exchange of India and the BSE, are also based in Mumbai.

To provide alternative commutation options, the railways has appealed the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) to ply additional buses over the next couple of days.

Notably, the mega block, which will come into effect post today midnight, will end on Sunday at 3:30 am.