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Updated: May 27, 2020 17:28 IST

Heavy rain disrupted rail traffic in Mumbai as several suburban trains were cancelled, rescheduled and stopped before destination stranding hundreds of passengers on stations.

Trains on Central Railway were running only till Thane railway station and local services were suspended between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Thane stations.

“Due to very heavy rainfall, Central Railway Mumbai Suburban Services will run in following sections only till further notice: Csmt andheri goregaon harbour line, Vashi panvel harbour line, Thane vashi Panvel transharbour, 4th corridor to Kharkopar, Thane kasara,Thane karjat/khopoli on the main line (sic),” Central Railway tweeted earlier.

Watch | Incessant rains brings Mumbai to a standstill, 16 killed in wall collapse

Western Railway said it is operating its suburban train services only between Churchgate and Virar stations after several tracks were flooded following heavy rains. The services between Virar and Dahanu has been suspended, it said. However, the AC local trains will not ply on Tuesday.

“02/07 /19. 09.15 hrs. WR suburban services are running without disruption between Churchgate - Vasai Rd & with a frequency of 20-25 mins bet Vasai Rd & Virar. Trains may be run with some delay due to low visibility & safety,” Western Railway said in its latest tweet.

Harbour local trains were operational between Panvel and Vashi railway station and those on CSMT-Panvel/Vashi suspended.

Western Railway and Central Railway have been updating the status of train lines that are functional on social media providing information about their services.

Passengers of three suburban trains who were stuck on flooded tracks were evacuated by Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff, Central Railway tweeted. Those stranded at the Thane railway station were served refreshments by Railway Protection Force (RPF) after several suburban train movements were suspended due to the heavy rains, news agency Asian News International reported.

The Maharashtra government has declared a public holiday as the weather department forecast more rains in Mumbai and its suburbs.

“Due to heavy rain forecast in Mumbai even today by IMD, People are advised to stay indoors unless there is any emergency,” chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ office tweeted early on Tuesday.

Torrential downpour, especially in the suburbs, between Monday night and Tuesday morning, led to Mumbai recording its second highest July rain over a 24 hour period since 1975.

The rainfall came after 44 years following the floods on July 26, 2005, which killed more than 1,000 people and was the highest with 944mm in 24 hours.

Between 8.30am on Monday and 8.30am on Tuesday, the Santacruz weather station, representative of the suburbs and Mumbai, recorded 375.2mm rain, falling under the ‘exceptionally heavy’ category when the amount of rainfall is highest recorded for the season or over a decade according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to IMD, the last time the city recorded the exact figure was in 1974 in July at 375.2mm.