Mumbai: Suburban services on Central Railway were severely disrupted on Friday evening after a technical failure in the signalling system at Dombivli station, triggering chaos during the rush hour. Railway officials suspect cable damage, possibly due to theft, as the cause behind the disruption.The snag occurred around 7 pm, affecting the up and down local lines as well as the 5th and 6th lines, while the fast corridor (lines 3 and 4) remained unaffected. The failure led to a temporary halt of train movement between Thane and Kalyan, with several services held up mid-section and passengers stranded inside coaches, even as platforms witnessed heavy overcrowding.Central Railway’s technical teams rushed to the site soon after the fault was reported. Restoration was carried out in phases, with the down local line resuming at 8.58 pm, followed by the 5th line at 9.06 pm. The up local line was restored at 9.40 pm, while the 6th line resumed at 9.45 pm under single yellow line working. Officials said they also coordinated with respective civic bodies to operate special buses to ease commuter inconvenience during the disruption.The incident derailed schedules across the main line, impacting slow services in both directions and affecting trains bound for Kalyan, Kasara and Karjat. With services thrown off gear during peak hours, commuters were forced to travel in extremely crowded conditions, and the ripple effect of delays was felt late into the night.“Such breakdowns during peak hours test our patience. We were stuck inside the train for nearly an hour with no announcements or clarity on what was happening. Delays and disruptions have become routine, but it is the commuters who suffer every day,” said Ajit Rane Dombivli resident.

Thane: The repair of four prominent flyovers on the Ghodbunder highway between Gaimukh and Kapurbawdi threatens to delay the handover of the state highway to the Thane Municipal Corporation despite the state govt already releasing a notification to the effect a few weeks before.The ownership of the 10.5 km stretch, including the four flyovers at Waghbil, Manpada, Patlipada and Kapurbawdi, was to be taken over by the corporation after the PWD—which took over its ownership from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) in 2021—was unable to maintain it. “The Thane corporation issued an NOC to the state a few weeks back expressing its intent to accept ownership of the highway, but with the road concretised and the flyovers repaired. However, while the MMRDA is working on the upgrading of the roads, the condition of the flyovers remains unattended. The PWD has now expressed its inability to execute any works due to lack of funds, due to which we may now have to take it up at our costs,” said a civic official requesting anonymity. The municipal engineers said they are presently awaiting final technical drawings and a stability report of the flyovers before they can analyse the actual scope of work required. “We are expecting a minimum cost of Rs 15 crore for the repairs. Once the revamp work is completed, we will be in a position to completely own the highway,” said the official.The proposal for handing over the highway to the Thane corporation was mooted during the tenure of Eknath Shinde as the chief minister, following which several meetings were held between the agencies over the same, with the primary demand from the corporation being to accept the highway and the network of flyovers in a well-maintained state.