Title - Rains hit road, rail traffic in Pune

Even as Puneites welcomed the heavy rains on Tuesday, the downpour affected railway and state transport (ST) bus services. The trains coming to Pune arrived late by one to four hours, while many ST buses were running late by nearly an hour.The southwest monsoon finally became active after a long gap and rains brought relief to citizens on Tuesday. However, air traffic in Pune remained unaffected.Even as trains originating from the city on Tuesday were running on time, those arriving to Pune railway station were running late due to the heavy rain. A railway official said, “Rains are delaying the trains coming from north India. Nizamuddin-Goa Express and Jhelum Express were late by nearly four hours and one hour respectively.” Swargate ST depot senior manager Vijay Divate said, “The ST buses running from Pune were running nearly an hour late. Those connecting Pune city to Mumbai, Velha, Mulshi, Paud and Maval were late by one to one-and-a-half hours due to heavy rain in that region.”Meanwhile, the traffic on the Mumbai-Pune expressway and old Pune-Mumbai highway was moving at a snail’s pace. Highway police officials said that heavy rain since Monday night has slowed down the traffic. A fog cover in the ghat section is also forcing motorists to drive slowly.”