MUMBAI: A signal failure at Kanjurmarg brought suburban train operations on multiple lines of Central Railway’s Main Line under severe regulation on Monday morning, with all signals at the station going blank and train movements affected between Vikhroli and Bhandup. The disruption was compounded by a separate incident in which a wire of unknown source was found hanging from the overhead equipment (OHE) between Mulund and Thane.The signal failure was reported at around 9.30am on October 26, when the Station Control Office (SCOR) reported that all lines at Kanjurmarg had gone down and the signals had turned blank. The failure affected signalling at Kanjurmarg as well as the section between Vikhroli and Bhandup, forcing railway officials to regulate train movements under special operating procedures to ensure safety.With the regular signalling system unavailable, trains were worked on A-board authority at Kanjurmarg and between Vikhroli and Bhandup. The fifth and sixth lines on the Bhandup–Vikhroli section were also operated under A-board authority.Railway officials introduced absolute block working between Vikhroli and Bhandup on the Down local and Down through lines, and in the reverse direction, between Bhandup and Vikhroli, on the Up local and Up through lines. Under this arrangement, train movements were regulated to ensure that only authorised trains entered the affected sections. Trains were also authorised to operate under TD 912 authority.The first trains to operate under the special arrangements were local train K39 on the Down local line from Vikhroli and train BL11 on the Down through line from Vikhroli. Details of the first trains to operate on the Up local and Up through lines from Bhandup were awaited.The exact time at which the signalling system stopped functioning was not available, with 9.30am being the time the failure was reported. The time of restoration and resumption of normal train operations was also awaited.In a separate incident, a wire of unknown source was reported hanging from the OHE on the Down local line between Mulund and Thane at around 9.23am. An OHE block was granted at 10am to facilitate its removal. The wire was removed at 10.50am.The two incidents affected train movements on the busy suburban corridor. The cause of the signal failure, the time taken to restore the signalling system and the normalisation of train services were awaited.
