The Mumbai–Pune transport corridor ground to a complete halt on Monday after torrential monsoon downpours triggered a series of severe landslides and widespread flooding. The extreme weather forced the closure of both the Mumbai–Pune Expressway and the old highway, whilst leaving railway services severely disrupted and thousands of commuters stranded between the two major cities.
The India Meteorological Department issued a red alert for Pune and an orange alert for Mumbai as the region faced relentless rainfall. In response to the worsening conditions, authorities cancelled at least 16 train services and diverted nine others. According to Central Railway officials, the first major disruption occurred at around 3:05 am when a landslide struck near Thakurwadi in the challenging Karjat–Lonavala Bhor Ghat section. This was shortly followed by a second landslide between Khandala and Monkey Hill.
Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer for Central Railway, confirmed that all three tracks in the Bhor Ghat stretch—the Up line towards Mumbai, the Down line towards Pune, and the Middle line—were blocked by debris. He noted that the heavy, continuous rainfall in the South East Ghat section had severely impacted operations, forcing the railway network to cancel, divert, and regulate numerous long-distance services.
Among the high-profile services cancelled were the CSMT–Pune Indrayani Express, Intercity Express, Deccan Express, Deccan Queen, Pragati Express, and Dhule Express. Additional commuter links, such as the Pune–CSMT Sinhagad Express, were also hit, with several other long-distance trains either short-terminated, diverted, or rescheduled. Railway teams have commenced restoration work on the blocked tracks, and passengers have been strongly advised to check the status of their trains before setting out.
Road travel fared no better, with officials suspending vehicular movement on both carriageways of the Mumbai–Pune Expressway and the old highway until further notice. Traffic heading towards Pune on the Khopoli–Kusgaon Missing Link had to be diverted early on Monday morning following a landslide near the exit of Tunnel 2. Meanwhile, several sections of the old highway became completely impassable due to deep flooding and overflowing water bodies.
The Highway Traffic Police control room reported that vehicular movement along the Khandala Ghat stretch remained heavily blocked by waterlogging and mudslides. In view of the potential risk, the police and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation have issued warnings to citizens advising them to refrain from any unnecessary journey between the two cities until the situation is clear. Moreover, in view of the fact that more rains were expected, the local authorities have announced a holiday for all schools and colleges on Monday in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Palghar districts.
Also read: Monsoon to intensify; Twin systems to drench large parts of India
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