PUNE: Rail traffic on the Pune-Mumbai line was badly affected after six wagons of a goods train derailed near the Khandala ghat section on Thursday afternoon.As many as 21down trains and 23 up trains were cancelled or short-terminated and 15 down trains diverted to other rail routes, Pune railway division public relations officer Manoj Jhawar told TOI.Jhawar said the exact reason for the derailment was not known and the matter was being investigated. “The incident took place between Monkey Hill and Khandala in the Mumbai division at 3.55pm. However, it was not a boulder fall which caused the derailment,“ he said.Jhawar said rail traffic was likely to be affected on Friday too. “However, things should settle by afternoon.We have released three helpline numbers for passengers in Pune,“ he added. Mumbai-bound passengers were stranded at the Pune railway station by evening. “I have to travel to Mumbai but the rail authorities have suddenly cancelled so many trains. A cab ride to Mumbai will be costly .I now hope to get a bus from the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation stand. It is strange that despite so many accidents happening in that section of the railways, no steps have been taken to remedy the situation,“ Ajinkya Nagare, a student, said. Pervez Sheikh, a city-based small-time businessman, said he wanted to get items for his shop from Mumbai by train. “I will now have to book a cab on my return journey . I cannot transport the items by bus as they are fragile. The last time I brought items from Mumbai, I had to pay the cab-driver Rs 5,000. But I have no choice now,“ he said.With the Deccan Queen also cancelled, Malay Shirke, who lives in Pune and works in a government office in Mumbai, said he would skip returning home.Some of the trains cancelled include Indrayani Express, Intercity Express, Deccan Express, Solapur-CSMT Express, CSMT-Solapur Express, Pragati Express, Deccan Queen, CSMT-Hyderabad Hussain Sagar Express, CSMT-Kolhapur Sahyadri Express, Kolhapur-CSMT Mahamaxmi Express, CSMT-Latur Express etc.The railways have said extra counters will be opened for people in the Pune station Helpline numbers from Pune are 020-26105130, 020-26105899, 020-26059002 Apart from this, as many as 6 trains have been diverted or shortly terminated or diverted.