MUMBAI: Peak hour train traffic was badly affected in Mumbai on Tuesday as hundreds of students demanding railway jobs sat on the rail tracks in the heart of the city.

The students, mainly those who have cleared the railway apprentice exams, have been protesting since 7 am between the Matunga and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) stations in south Mumbai, blocking trains to one of the city’s busiest business centres. The railways were forced to stop running suburban and express trains.

A large number of policemen tried to remove the protesters from the tracks and even used batons as students refused to budge, holding up placards and shouting slogans demanding jobs in the railways, one of the largest public sector employers in India. The protesters allegedly also threw stones at the local trains.

Local trains are the lifeline of India’s financial capital and any disruption of services cripples movement in the city. Reports suggest around 30 trains have been cancelled. Besides the local train traffic, long-distance trains to Mumbai have also been impacted.

Railway officials say a fifth of the railway jobs have been reserved for apprentices, but the protesting students want the quota limit to be removed.

The students say there has been no recruitment for these jobs in the last four years. “We are running from pillar to post. Over 10 students have committed suicide. We cannot let such things happen,” a student told the Press Trust of India.

Another said: “We will not budge unless Railway Minister Piyush Goyal comes and meets us.”

The central railways are running trains up to Kurla, but traffic is blocked from there to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The Central Railway has 1,710 local train services daily and carries around 43 lakh passengers every day.