# Western Railway uses fifth line to skip ‘Thambivali’ halt 2026-09-29T23:02:41+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Western Railway has begun diverting select local trains to the fifth line between Borivali and Santacruz in Mumbai to bypass a recurring signal-related halt that commuters call 'Thambivali'. The halt, lasting one to five minutes between Borivali and Kandivali, has been blamed on the route relay interlocking system installed at Borivali station. Officials say about 10 services daily are being rerouted during non-peak hours. The fifth and sixth lines were built to separate suburban and long-distance trains, but the sixth line remains incomplete on the Kandivali-Borivali stretch. Railway Board officials recently reviewed signalling systems at Borivali to assess safety and punctuality. The move offers a temporary fix, while a lasting solution depends on completing the sixth line and improving signalling. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The 'Thambivali' halt is the latest symptom of Mumbai's chronic suburban rail overcrowding, where the Western line alone carries over 1.5 crore passengers daily. The fifth and sixth lines were part of a Rs 1,200-crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) phase II, approved in 2012, to separate long-distance and local trains. Its incomplete stretch between Borivali and Kandivali shows how infrastructure delivery lags behind demand, forcing WR to improvise during off-peak hours. The signalling issue before Borivali stems from route relay interlocking (RRI) installed to prevent collisions but now causing bottlenecks. A permanent fix requires completing the sixth line and rebalancing RRI, both pending Railway Board review. Commuters will watch if WR expands fifth-line use to peak hours before the 2027 summer timetable revision. ## Coverage - freepressjournal.in Neutral report on operational changes, no slant or critique of government This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Borivali, Kandivali, Mumbai, Railway Board, Western Railway Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/western-railway-uses-fifth-line-to-skip-thambivali-halt/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/western-railway-uses-fifth-line-to-skip-thambivali-halt/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/