BEST way to ride crisis

Thousands of commuters were stranded on Tuesday after Western Railway officials (WR) evacuated all stations along the route as a precautionary measure.

BEST immediately got going, taking over the charge of ferrying stranded commuters from Churchgate to Andheri. As many as 108 buses were pressed into service between 7 and 9pm. “We brought all the buses from Colaba and Back Bay depots out on the roads,” said a BEST traffic officer at Churchgate station. “The route after Andheri will be taken care of with buses from our depots in the suburbs.”

Although Pranay Prabhakar, WR chief public relations officer, said train services would resume only on Wednesday morning, several TV channels reported that there were chances of the services resuming between Churchgate and Bandra late in the night. “All stations are being searched to prevent more blasts,” he said. “Police have been asked to evacuate all stations to avoid any untoward incident.” 

Dozens of PCOs on platforms at Churchgate station had long queues as desperate passengers tried to connect with their loved ones. A Western Railway source said, “Nearly 1 lakh people who travel after 6pm on the western route were stranded on Tuesday.” 

Prabhakar said the WR was yet to ascertain damages. “The overhead wire near Mira Road has been damaged, and could delay traffic regularisation,” he said.  The police took charge of the roads near Churchgate and CST stations, announcing information on alternate travel routes and BEST arrangements. For more information, call 23014373, 23094064, 23004000.