Trains Towards Mumbai Halted at Lonavala Station Due to Landslide Ahead, Passengers Stranded Ahead of Raksha Bandhan
Apart from a couple of Mumbai-bound trains from Pune region, the trains which have been stranded includes the Kolhapur-Ahmedabad Express.
Mumbai, Aug 25: Trains headed towards Mumbai and beyond have been halted at Lonavala station due to a landslide in the hilly region. The landslip, claim TV reports, have obstructed the tracks which has compelled the Western Railway to halt trains which were scheduled to pass through.
Apart from a couple of Mumbai-bound trains from Pune region, the trains which have been stranded includes the Kolhapur-Ahmedabad Express. Reports claim the trains are heavily loaded with passengers vis-a-vis other weekends as a large number of commuters were heading to other towns on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
The Western Railway has deployed its personnel to clear the tracks for the trains to resume. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has also joined the track clearance operation, reports said.
Lonavala, located at 100-km distance from Mumbai, is prone to landslides during the Monsoon season. The last major landslip was reported in July 2015, when three commuters were killed as boulders came rolling down at the Mumbai-Pune Express Highway.
In case of the tracks being blocked for hours, the passengers may use road transport to head towards their destinations. However, Lonavala witnesses an unprecedented traffic jam from the onset of Saturday evening till Sunday midnight due to the influx of tourists from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Raigad and Pune regions.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2018 11:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).