The incident took place at around 7.40 pm after the train had left Bandra station and was approaching Khar. According to railway officials, no one was injured in the incident.

Those who were on trains following the derailed train were stranded on the tracks. ``People from my train got down near Dadar and started walking towards Borivali. I hope to reach home at Kandivli by tomorrow morning,'' said a caller from Bandra at 10.30 pm.

Commuters on their way home after work were taken by surprise to find stations crowded to the point of overflowing. ``It is pure mayhem here, no one knows what is happening,'' said an exasperated Sanjay Parab, a timber merchant from Kandivli who called the Express office after getting stuck at Churchgate.

Memories of last week's delay caused bythe Jaipur Superfast catching fire at Borivli station were still fresh in the minds of some of the commuters. The incident which occurred last Wednesday delayed Virar-bound trains by half an hour.

Food stalls at the station did brisk business after hungry commuters scooped up all the snacks they could lay their hands on. ``Who knows if we could make it home even by dinner time,'' a commuter was overheard saying between mouthfuls.

A posse of around 20 railway policemen remained on alert to avoid any possible violent incidents even as announcements continually boomed out reasons for the delay.

Vinod Asthana, chief public relations officer (WR), claimed that peak hour traffic tomorrow morning would not be affected.