In the aftermath of the Mumbra train accident, the Central Railway (CR) has decided to fasten the process of increasing the number of 15-car rakes on the Mumbai suburban network.
The plan to convert more 12-car local trains into 15-car trains has been pending since 2017.
The move aims at tackling overcrowding, specifically on Kalyan-Thane stretch that has repeatedly been flagged as a major cause of such incidents.
CR's plan outlined a two-phase implementation of the 15-car system beyond Kalyan. In phase 1, platforms would be extended on the Karjat line, which serves rapidly growing suburbs like Ambernath and Badlapur.
Phase 2 would cover the Kasara line, connecting towns such as Titwala and Asangaon. Currently, only Dombivli and Kalyan stations are equipped to handle 15-car trains beyond Thane.
Additionally, as part of the upgrade, CR has begun work on extending platform 5 and 6 at CSMT, which will allow operation of 20 more 15-car services.
Future plans include introduction of semi-fast 15-car services, which will run fast between CSMT and Thane and switch to the slow corridor from Thane to Kalyan. It will be serving stations such as Kalwa, Mumbra, Diva and Kopar, which are currently bypass by local trains.
Currently, CR operates only 22 15-car services, all on the CSMT-Kalyan fast corridor. In contrast, Western Railway (WR) runs over 210 15-car services on both slow and fast corridors. WR has steadily expanded its 15-car network, running 97 trains on fast lines and 114 on slow corridors on the Andheri-Virar route.
CR had proposed converting 12-car trains to 15-car trains at a cost of ₹900 crore back in 2018. The push for longer trains gained urgency in 2015 when the Railway Board directed both CR and WR to draft action plans after viral videos showed passengers falling off overcrowded trains.