Move will boost passenger capacity; 25 of these services are in the Virar-Dahanu direction
Western Railway headquarters, in Churchgate on January 24. File pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Western Railway (WR) on Monday announced the introduction of more 15-car local trains to boost passenger capacity on the Mumbai suburban line from August 15. Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer, WR, said, “Western Railway has decided to convert 49 more local train services from 12-car to 15-car ones. The carrying capacity of each train will increase by 25 per cent. With this, the total number of 15-car services will be increased from 150 to 199 over WR’s Mumbai suburban section. Out of these 49 services, 25 services are in the Down (Virar-Dahanu) direction while 24 services are in the Up (Churchgate) direction. There will be no change in the total number of services, i.e. 1,394, including 79 AC local services. The upgrade will provide additional accommodation to the commuters for their convenience and comfort.”
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WR has worked on upgrading its trains into 15-car ones to boost capacity as a special project since 2021. The project included the extension of 27 platforms at 14 stations on the slow corridor between Andheri and Virar for running 15-car services at an estimated cost of approximately R60 crore. Due to the project, it was made possible to operate 15-car trains by carrying out massive infrastructure works at 14 stations on the 40-km stretch between Andheri and Virar.
The works mainly included an extension of 27 platforms to accommodate 15-car rakes, yard remodelling of the major yards at Andheri, Bhayandar, Vasai Road and Virar, construction/extension of five foot overbridges and provision of double-discharge platforms at Jogeshwari for the smooth dispersal of commuters. WR has been a pioneer by introducing 12-car services in 1986 and later 15-car services in 2009 on its suburban section’s fast corridor, besides introducing AC locals, a first in the country, on December 25, 2017.
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