The Western Railway authorities have cancelled four trains between 8.30am and 10am that start from Malad or Goregaon.
Commuters travelling from or via Andheri are unhappy about train halts being removed from the station. Earlier last week, Jogeshwari locals protested against cancellation of trains. Residents and office-goers, who travel via Andheri and Jogeshwari are worried about the potential crowd and chaos on Monday morning, during peak hours.
The Western Railway authorities have cancelled four trains between 8.30am and 10am that start from Malad or Goregaon. These trains operate during peak hours when the crowd at stations is at its worse.
The good thing is that the WR has adjusted timings of two trains in such a fashion that they are getting halts at both Andheri and Jogeshwari stations. Earlier, halt at Jogeshwari was cancelled for two trains.
"We fear that there shall be more trouble for people boarding from Andheri as halts have been curtailed. Already, trains that earlier left from Andheri, now start from Goregaon. Also, the Harbour line trains depart from Goregaon. Thus, it leaves little scope for ease for the ones who board from Andheri," said Jagdish Singhania, a resident of Andheri.
With over 2.5 lakh daily footfall, this station also connects the Versova - Andheri - Ghatkopar metro rail. There are several industrial and commercial offices that have cropped up in Andheri east and west. This had earlier propelled rail authorities to expand and beautify the railway station premises with an elevated deck to accommodate more people.
"We will have to see what happens on Monday. There is a need to give halts to trains between Andheri and Virar," said K Verma, member, Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee.
On Saturday, the WR decided to rework halts of six locals by withdrawing halts of four train services at Andheri and by giving halts to two train services at both Jogeshwari and Andheri. Mansoor Darvesh, president, Passenger and Traffic Relief Association said, "The six locals starting from Goregaon or Malad were proving useful for commuters boarding from Jogeshwari as they were comparatively empty."
The zonal railway implemented its new suburban timetable from November 1. For speeding up six locals starting from Goregaon and Malad stations, WR had discontinued halts at Jogeshwari station. In the new timetable, WR has introduced 10 new regular suburban services, besides extending the destination of 122 services.
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