100-plus services to be cancelled today after similar Tuesday inconvenience; blocked entry to south end of Kandivali car shed leads to passenger apathy
The affected sixth and fifth lines stretch between Kandivli and Borivli, as well as the blocked car shed line. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
An error of judgement, resulting in commuters continuing to suffer even after a month-long block, has left Western Railway (WR) with egg on its face. Owing to this lapse, hundreds of local train operations scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday had to be cancelled.
Though WR had recently completed its sixth line, the south-end entry-exit line of the crucial Kandivali car shed had not been opened, drastically impacting dozens of suburban services. “Due to suspension of exit and entry at Kandivali car shed and speed restrictions imposed on the Up and Down fast line between Kandivali and Malad, some suburban services will remain cancelled on January, 21, 2026,” a WR press release read.
What went wrong?
In the hurry to complete the project, the WR engineers forgot one important thing: giving the ‘line-fit’ certificate to the crucial Churchgate-end entry and exit line of the Kandivali car shed.
Railway officials, linemen, and contract workers carry out work amid a jumbo block for the sixth line project near Kandivali railway station on January 18. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
This has led to a major problem as the car shed has been isolated from one side and local trains are being taken out in one direction and a few parked elsewhere disturbing the existing rake links.
“It was the most obvious thing that should been have done at the first. Now, two more days have been wasted, inconveniencing of lakhs of commuters,” a source said.
Voices
Borivali commuter and student Aakash Bhavnani said, “One month of blocks and tall claims and they still forgot the basics? Lakhs are suffering because someone didn’t tick a box. This is not development; this is negligence. The most obvious thing was ignored, and the city, as always, paid the price. WR owes commuters more than silence.”
An office-going commuter, Anshika Mehra, said, “How do you ‘forget’ a line-fit certificate after spending years on a project? Are commuters guinea pigs for engineering experiments now? Western Railway treats commuters like collateral damage.”
Shailesh Ramane, a student and commuter from Dahisar, said, “Finish the sixth line, then shut down trains the very next day. If this is planning, we don’t want it. Blocks, speed restrictions, cancellations — and now excuses. When will accountability arrive on time, as our trains never do?”
“We were told the pain of blocks would end congestion. Instead, we got two more days of chaos. Who answers for this? Hundreds of locals cancelled because engineers were in a hurry to declare completion. Hurry for whom? Certainly not for commuters,” software engineer Rivesh Kumar, a commuter from Khar said.
“This is not a technical snag — this is a planning failure. Mumbai locals deserve professionalism, not apologies after the damage. If a private company made such a mistake, heads would roll. Here, commuters just roll with the punches — again,” office-goer Divyesh Pai from Virar said.
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