Mumbai: In an announcement on Saturday evening, Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) officials said there will be 584 and 165 additional services respectively on the suburban network in the next four to five years once all the infrastructure upgrade projects are completed in phases. In the WR, there will be 65 more long-distance trains from Mumbai in the near future. Moreover, existing trains will be augmented by 70 coaches per day. In the CR, 30 new outstation trains will be introduced. CR will upgrade Parel-Kurla 5th and 6th line, deck at Kurla for Harbour line and 5th and 6th line, and Kalyan-Kasara 3rd and 4th line. WR chief spokesperson Vineet Abhishek said that the objective is to augment the carrying capacity in suburban and long-distance trains and, more importantly, reduce overcrowding in suburban coaches. As many as 20 new train services will be introduced after the completion of the 6th line extension work till Borivli, while bringing in more AC local trains as well in near future depending on when the new AC rakes get commissioned. At present, WR runs 1,406 suburban services daily through 116 rakes. It handles 44 long-distance trains from the Mumbai area. Abhishek said, “With the completion of various infrastructure work, the suburban traffic will be segregated from main line traffic. This will release additional capacity for suburban operations.”At the same time, the work for the extension of the harbour line from Goregaon to Borivli is also moving at a fast pace. In addition, the extension of platform lengths on the Bandra–Andheri section to 15 cars is also planned. The construction of the Naigaon–Juichandra double chord line at a cost of Rs 176 crore is also being executed. This will enable direct connectivity towards the Konkan Railway, without loco reversal at Vasai Road, paving the way for new train services and smoother travel for passengers from Western suburbs towards Konkan, Goa, and beyond. Under Phase I for the 6th line project, work is in the final stages for the Kandivli–Borivli stretch, which will be completed by Jan 2026, he said. “Capacity augmentation in Mumbai will be undertaken through terminal expansion, development of maintenance and stabling infrastructure,” Abhishek added.
