If you hold a ticket on one of eight long-distance trains into Mumbai between now and December 15, your journey will end short of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Central Railway began a 75-day traffic and power block on CSMT platforms 14 and 15 and stabling line 15 on October 1. Seven of the affected trains will stop at Dadar and one at Thane, The Free Press Journal reported.
The eight trains
Terminating at Dadar:
- 11002 Ballarshah–CSMT Nandigram Express
- 12810 Howrah–CSMT Express
- 12112 Amravati–CSMT Express
- 11020 Bhubaneswar–CSMT Konark Express
- 22120 Madgaon–CSMT Tejas Express
- 22144 Bidar–CSMT Express
- 22108 Latur–CSMT Express
Terminating at Thane: 12134 Mangaluru–CSMT Express.
The Marathi dailies Navarashtra and Saamana carried the same list and dates. Every report describes arrivals into CSMT. None mentions departures from the terminus, so check your return train on the NTES app or by calling 139 before you head to Dadar or Thane to board it.
Why CSMT keeps losing platforms
The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is rebuilding the heritage terminus in phases, and Central Railway has been taking the mail-express platforms out of service two at a time for foundation work. In February 2025 it cut the Mangaluru Express back to Thane and the Madgaon Tejas to Dadar while crews extended platforms 12 and 13, according to a Konkan Railway notice. In late May 2026, a 10-day block on platforms 16 and 17 sent this same group of eight trains to Dadar and Thane, Bombay Samachar reported. Saamana describes the current closure as the next stage after that work.
The May block lasted 10 days. This one runs for 75, and Diwali falls in early November, right in the middle. These trains connect Mumbai with Vidarbha, Marathwada, Goa, coastal Karnataka, Odisha and Bengal, and they fill up in the festival weeks.
What it means if you are arriving
- Dadar arrivals: Dadar sits on both the Central and Western lines, so passengers bound for the western suburbs may save time. If you are going to Fort, Colaba or Nariman Point, you face a Central line local or a taxi ride of about 9 km to CSMT.
- Thane arrival (Mangaluru Express): Thane is about 34 km from CSMT by rail. Plan on roughly an hour by local train to reach the island city, more in the evening peak.
- Luggage: Central line locals out of Dadar and Thane rank among the most crowded in the city at peak hours. Families with heavy bags should budget for a cab.
- Pick-ups: If relatives are meeting you, tell them Dadar or Thane.
- Refunds: The fare for the unused stretch is small. NativePlanet’s guide says e-ticket holders who want it back must file a Ticket Deposit Receipt on IRCTC within 72 hours, while counter-ticket holders should apply at a reservation counter.
What to watch
Central Railway and RLDA have not said in these reports how many more platform blocks Phase-I needs, or when it should finish. Three blocks in under two years have hit the same trains, so passengers from Nagpur, Amravati, Latur and the Konkan coast should expect further notices. The immediate question is whether work wraps up by December 15, ahead of the Christmas and New Year rush.
Sources: The Free Press Journal, Navarashtra, Saamana, Bombay Samachar, Konkan Railway, NativePlanet
This report was written with AI assistance from the publicly reported sources linked here; each fact was cross-checked against at least two of them.