Commuters beyond Virar have been complaining that the high-profile Vande Bharat Express has been delaying other trains. A local MLA has backed their cause, writing to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde seeking his intervention to resolve the issue. There are several issues faced by passengers of the Virar-Dahanu suburban section. Many passengers have expressed frustration and anger over the treatment they are getting by Railways,” Prathamesh Prabhutendolkar of Dahanu Vaitarna Pravasi Sevabhavi Sanstha said.

“The Valsad-Bandra daily passenger train is looped at Palghar every day for at least 30 minutes for the recently introduced Vande Bharat Express due to which those on night duty are not able to attend their shifts on time. The Virar-Dahanu, Churchgate-Dahanu local trains and the Borivli-Dahanu Mainline EMU train are also looped and delayed. What we need is a readjustment of the timetable to maintain punctuality,” Prabhutendolkar said. Association members also met the divisional railway manager at Mumbai Central recently to get the issue resolved.