The Mumbai-Pune rail route was closed temporarily on Wednesday after some soil beneath the tracks had been washed away,reviving memories of 2005 and last year. Suburban services were stopped and long-distance trains diverted till the line was reopened at 1 pm. Suburban passengers were asked to board the diverted long-distance trains till the line was reopened. The erosion left a crater a metre-and-a-half deep and four metres wide beneath the tracks between Badlapur and Vangani. Dhondu Sarkar,the gateman at level crossing no 15 reported it at 8.40 am and suburban services were stopped. The soil had been washed away due to excessive rain and services had to be either suspended or diverted, said Shriniwas Mudgerikar,chief spokesperson for Central Railway. The worst hit were stations beyond Vangani,Karjat and Khopoli. The section is an important gateway to the city,especially for trains from Pune and South India,and is part of one of Central Railways busiest routes. CR had to suspend eight suburban trains till the line was cleared. The long-distance Deccan Express,Pragati Express,Mumbai-Hyderabad Express,Udayan Express,Chennai Express and Koyna Express were diverted from Kalyan via Diva-Panvel-Karjat route. The Mumbai-Pune Sinhagad Express and Mumbai-Kolhapur Sayhadri Express were sent back to Pune from Karjat and Lonavala respectively. All suburban services were terminated at Badlapur. We had allowed suburban passengers to use long-distance trains to their destinations, said Mudegrikar. During the 26/7 deluge of 2005,heavy water currents had not only washed away soil similarly but also displaced the tracks. Last year,some soil beneath the tracks was washed away after the authorities had released excess water from the Barvi Dam.
