Title - Rail fracture disrupts CR services

A rail fracture near Wadala Road station disrupted Central Railway’s harbour line services during the morning rush hour. In all, 36 services were cancelled.
    The fracture was spotted by the motorman of a Vashi-bound local after 8.45am. immediately, a caution order was issued to motormen, limiting train speeds to 10 kmph in the stretch containing the affected rail.
    A CR spokesperson said, “A special block of track had to be taken to the spot to rectify the fault. Trains began running at normal speed from 11.15am onwards.”
    During the affected period, the Kurla, Wadala and Sewri stations became overcrowded.
    Chembur resident Rajesh Nambiar said, “There was total chaos at the stations because of train delays during the morning. It took me 90 minutes to reach CST, instead of the usual 40 minutes.”
    Some commuters took the road to Kurla or Dadar to catch main line trains. Vashi-resident Paramjit Sandhu said, “My train did not move for than 25 minutes after crossing Chunabhatti station. I, along with a few commuters, walked back to the station and boarded a train in the down direction to go back and take a main-line train.”
    Chembur-resident Priya Sen said, “I have decided to stop travelling by harbour line as this is the second time I got stuck due to some fault in the network. Instead of boarding a train from Chembur, I would rather take a bus to Kurla to board a main-line train.”
    A CR official said that even a minor failure on the harbour line can aggravate problems “because of the constraints in the system”. “Unlike Western Railway or CR’s main line, that have four lines, harbour has only two corridors. In case of a disruption, trains cannot be diverted, as is done in WR or CR, where trains switch to fast or slow corridors.”
CRACKS &
TRACKS
8.45am | Rail fractures on up line at Wadala Road, disrupting Central Railway’s harbour line services 11.00am | Affected portion of rail repaired 11.15am | Services resume
    36 services cancelled due to the incident
    Services delayed by 40-45 minutes till 2pm
FAULTS IN RAILS
HUMAN ERROR | Irregular cleaning of ballast. If ballast is not cleaned, accumulated particles can affect its flexibility, thus constraining a track under traffic, causing it to develop cracks
WEATHER | Great temperature swings within a short period of time can cause rails to contract or expand, creating tension within it. If tension is sufficiently large, it can cause the rail to crack
WEAR AND TEAR | This naturally occurs due to the impact of wheels and should be detected in time
PAST CASES
AUG 20, 2012 | CR cancels 18 locals after a rail fracture near Kurla
JULY 2 | Harbour line services affected for over 30 minutes in the evening due to a rail fracture near Reay Road station
JAN 21 | Around 200 commuters stopped a Vashi local at Cotton Green station for 45 minutes after CR cancelled a Bandra local to repair a rail fracture