MUMBAI, March 16 -- In the last 11 months, Central Railway (CR) has cleared an astounding 1.16 million muck bags containing 69.9 million kg of garbage and muck from its premises. The work continues with the approaching of the monsoon. Earlier this month, the BMC and Railways, along with other bodies, held a joint pre-monsoon works meeting and discussed the various measures required to be taken in the coming days. One of the biggest issues flagged was the problem of garbage dumped on and along the tracks, which chokes culverts and storm water drainage lines leading to water logging and the disruption of train services during the monsoon. The data shows that garbage dumping along railway tracks is a significant and persistent problem. "We have collected 10,38,000 muck bags on the Main line and 1,27,000 muck bags on the Harbour line," said a CR official. "On an average, a single bag holds up to 60 kg of garbage and muck. We used 596 special wagons to carry the bags. The garbage is usually dumped by illegal slum dwellers. We will be carrying out a drive at the locations where people chuck waste." Sources said that Sion, Kurla, Matunga Road, Wadala, Bandra and Mahim, where illegal settlements thrive, were consistent problem areas. From April 2025 until February 2026,the CR authorities required 271 wagons to transport the garbage from the rail premises. In January and February 2026, CR cleared 1,25,000 bags of garbage and muck on the Main and Harbour lines. Certain months such as June, September and December 2025 saw particularly heavy accumulation, each crossing 1,50,000 bags, indicating continuous dumping from slums along the railway corridor. "The state government or the local civic bodies should intervene and do something about these illegal encroachments," said K Verma, a member of the Mumbai Rail Passenger Association. "The railways pass the buck, saying they don't have a policy to rehabilitate slum dwellers. But they should prevent settlements in the first place." Earlier this week, a 3-m-tall metal fence began to be constructed along the tracks on one of the most notorious stretches in Bandra (E). Over the years, the illegal slum dwellers here have been dumping garbage and filth on and along the rail lines, damaging the quality of rail infrastructure. The railways have been attempting to remove these illegal settlements from railway land for decades-however, it has been a struggle, as the people here have served as vote banks for political parties....