Surge in commuters using Mumbai Metro lines from Dahisar to Andheri

Western Railway cancels 200 local trainsThe first day of Western Railway WR blocks resulted in mega crowds at stations due to preplanned train cancellations A tactical shift by WR commuters to the new Metro lines and an unexpected derailment of a freight train at Vasai in the evening further affected services on the DivaVasai rail lineTo counter the crowds and chaos Western Railway WR authorities said they had deployed additional security at stations and also deployed plainclothes cops to monitor any rumourmongering that may lead to chaos among crowds The new Metro linesmdashYellow Line 2A and Red Line 7mdashcame much to the rescue of commuters as authorities witnessed a sharp spike in numbersldquoAt local train stations of Borivli Andheri Malad and many others there were very big crowds as the train frequency had dropped beyond five minutes As trains were delayed and detained crowds swelled at stationsrdquo commuter Ram Keswani said Another commuter Monil Nitin Parikh said ldquoA few hours back Borivli station was extremely crowded Mumbai will get new rail lines which will ease a lot of congestion but while the new lines are being laid the situation is very badrdquoRailway authorities say they made arrangements to manage the crowds but seem to have fallen shortRailway officials said that the crowds were expected and they were trying to control them with additional security staff that had been deployed ldquoRailway Protection Force RPF staff has been withdrawn from nonsensitive and less important beats and deployed for crowd regulation at platforms foot overbridges etc in coordination with Government Railway Police GRP to avert any sudden crowd buildup leading to a stampedelike situation So far 359 RPF personnel and 178 GRP personnel including officers have been deployed round the clock for crowd regulation at platforms foot overbridges etcrdquo a WR spokesperson saidAccording to the official RPF staff has also been deployed for guarding stabled trains in the yards ldquoPost incharges have been instructed to remain present around the platform area to monitor passenger crowds and take security arrangements in coordination with GRP local police and the railway administration Staff in plain clothes have been deployed to keep a watch on rumourmongering which may lead to a stampedelike situation In addition to station announcements loud hailers have been given to RPF to advise the public about the cancellation of train services CCTV monitoring is being handled by trained skilled staff supervised by officers from time to timerdquo the spokesperson said adding that generally crowded places like platforms etc are being constantly monitoredGiving details of the derailment in the evening a WR spokesperson said two wagons of an empty goods train got uncoupled and derailed at Vasai yard at 517 pm infringing platform Nos 6 and 7 even though the main line remained clear ldquoTwo DivaVasai trains hag to be shortterminated and reversed from Kaman Roadrdquo the official saidMetro sees surge in footfallMeanwhile the Mumbai Metro registered todayrsquos ridership at 8 pm with 199670 passengers clearly indicating a surge in demand for the service ldquoThe Metro has been witnessing a consistent 5 per cent increase in ridership every month highlighting its significance as an affordable mode of transport for Mumbaikars If the need arises our existing Metro services have the capacity to accommodate even more passengers MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee said adding that the crowd is being closely monitored and informed decisions will be made to provide additional services if necessaryMetro passenger footfall till 8 pm on Friday was 7000 more commuters as compared to the previous day So far the highest number of commuters in a single full day reached an impressive 243 lakh on October 19 2023 as per an earlier note517 pmApprox time goods train derailed at Vasai yard