Rail services between Mumbai and Pune remained severely disrupted on Monday after incessant rainfall triggered a major landslide between Thakurvadi cabin and Monkey hill cabin on the Lonavala-Karjat section of Central Railway (CR). The disruption led to the cancellation of 26 trains, diversion of 47 services, short-termination of 19 trains, short-origination of 15 trains, rescheduling of three trains, and rescheduling plus diversion of six other trains.The disruption led to the cancellation of 26 trains, diversion of 47 services, short-termination of 19 trains, short-origination of 15 trains, rescheduling of three trains, and rescheduling plus diversion of six other trains. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)Among the major trains cancelled were the iconic Deccan Queen Express, Deccan Express, Indrayani Express, Pragati Express, Sinhagad Express, Mumbai-Pune Intercity Express and Solapur-Pune Intercity Express, which caused considerable inconvenience to thousands of daily commuters and long-distance passengers travelling between Mumbai, Pune and other parts of Maharashtra.“We were informed only after reaching Pune station that our train would not proceed to Mumbai. There was confusion on the platforms and many passengers, especially senior citizens and families with children, were struggling to arrange alternate transport,” said Manjunath Iyer, a passenger travelling to Dadar.Another passenger Swati Jhirne said, “I was travelling on the Deccan Queen for an important meeting in Mumbai. The sudden cancellation forced me to book a bus at the last minute, and even road traffic was extremely heavy because of the rains.”According to CR, the landslide occurred after exceptionally heavy rainfall lashed the south east ghat section for the past three days. The affected stretch recorded more than 140 mm of rainfall within just four hours on July 6, after recording 327 mm on July 5, and 162 mm on July 4. The continuous downpour destabilised the hillside, resulting in debris falling onto the railway tracks between Thakurvadi cabin and Monkey hill cabin and forcing authorities to suspend train operations along the section as a safety precaution.The disruption impacted not only suburban intercity services but also several long-distance trains connecting Maharashtra with Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi and Rajasthan. Trains such as the Ahmedabad-Kolhapur Express, Ahmedabad-Pune Duronto Express, Chennai-CSMT Express, Konark Express, Bhuj-Pune Express, Hazrat Nizamuddin-Pune Express, Bengaluru-Jodhpur Express, Bikaner-Miraj Express and several others were diverted along alternate routes via Daund, Manmad, Igatpuri, Kalyan and Surat, resulting in considerable delays and extended travel time for passengers.Several premium and important services were also short-terminated or short-originated due to the blockage. The Solapur-CSMT Vande Bharat Express was short-terminated at Pune, while the CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat commenced its journey from Pune instead of Mumbai. Similarly, multiple long-distance trains including the Hyderabad-CSMT Express, Mahalaxmi Express, Hubballi-Dadar Express, Nagercoil-LTT Express and Hosapete-CSMT Express were either terminated before reaching their destinations or originated from intermediate stations to minimise operational disruption.Central Railway officials said restoration work is progressing on a war footing. Around 200 labourers have already been deployed in the ghat section to clear the debris and restore the track, while another 200 workers are being mobilised to expedite the operation. Engineering teams are continuously monitoring the stability of the hillside, and restoration activities are being carried out with the utmost caution considering the persistent rainfall in the region.