Central Railway services hit: Passengers wait for trains, and information

Mumbai: If you stepped into a Central Railway station yesterday, you saw an uneasy crowd, enormous in number and short of temper, waiting at the platforms. The LED displays showing train arrivals were frozen at zero. Except for a staccato announcement about indefinite delays due to a technical problem, little else was communicated to this mass of people, waiting to go to work.

Mumbai off track
12.05 am
The signalling panel room next to Kurla station caught fire  

475
Approximate number of trains on CR that were cancelled (30% of total)
Early on Wednesday, the first set of office goers were left wondering about the sudden disappearance of local trains from tracks for tens of minutes together, which is unusual in the morning. The constant craning of necks, shifting of eyes, and shuffling on feet conveyed their impatience. There were still no announcements, especially at smaller stations on both Main and Harbour lines. They had not an inkling of the problem awaiting them. The wait seemed endless.

Geeta Ajith, a college professor, who boards from Chembur station said, "Our wait at the station seemed like ages, without any indication or announcements from the railway authorities on the situation. Finally, around 9 am, announcements were made that trains would not be running. So commuters spilled out of the station, where there was a new struggle to find a rickshaw or bus. In the end, I did manage to reach my destination, over than three hours late."