MUMBAI, Oct. 18 -- Suburban locals and long-distance trains on a section of the Central Railway (CR) were delayed by 30-45 minutes on Friday afternoon as the Diva level crossing, at one point, remained open for as long as 26 minutes. Traffic gridlock and utter chaos at the level crossing has become a regular occurrence, leading to frequent delays in train operations. "Vehicles had stalled, choc-a-bloc, on the LC gate road, from 12.20pm to 12.46pm, leaving 11 train services stranded on the Kurla-Kalyan stretch," said a CR official. This comes after railway officials met with local traffic and civic authorities in Thane last week, urging them to sort out the chaos at the Diva level crossing. Not only has the number of vehicles risen sharply over time, roads that run parallel to the railway tracks funnel large volumes of traffic towards the level crossing. Every day, the level crossing gate at Diva is opened 39 times, which delays trains by 5-10 minutes. During morning and evening peak hours, the gate remains open for 8-12 minutes each time, due to bumper-to-bumper road traffic. Around 9 lakh vehicles use this east-west level crossing daily, holding up 80-90 trains every day on the CSMT-Kalyan route. According to a study conducted by the railway, traffic snarls at Diva led to 2,558 services being delayed across 10 months in 2024-25. "Traffic jams at the level crossing are so bad that, on occasion, vehicles stall on the railway tracks for 20-30 minutes during peak hours, impacting the punctuality of trains," said a railway official. "That's exactly what happened on Friday." Local authorities are working on a permanent solution but it won't be ready any time soon. A road over bridge (ROB) is being built straddling the tracks at Diva. When ready, the level crossing will be shut and vehicles crossing east to west will use the new ROB. However, work on the new bridge, which began in 2019, has stalled for more than a year due to land acquisition challenges. The railway says it finished installing girders over the tracks in January 2024; now the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) must build the approach roads leading up to the proposed new bridge. However, over the years, various structures have been constructed, almost cheek-by-jowl, in the very area where the approach roads need to be built, halting work on the ROB as the TMC grapples with land acquisition issues. Meanwhile, a blame-game is unfolding at ground level. The traffic police blame unruly motorists and insufficient manpower to man the contentious crossing, while the railway claims it has received no support from the TMC or Thane Traffic Police, despite repeated letters and requests. Pankaj Shirsath, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Thane, said, "I am not aware of any letter written to us, seeking our help. Since we are now apprised of the issue, I will send the team to resolve the problem."...