A common misconception in urban transport planning is to view suburban railways and Metro networks as competing alternatives, but the reality is far more nuanced, according to Vivek Kumar Gupta, Member (Infrastructure), Railway Board, who recently assumed charge after serving as the General Manager of the Western and Central Railways.
“Rail based systems do not compete, they complement (each other). In the larger public transport ecosystem, while working together, they serve the mobility needs of passengers in a holistic manner,” Gupta said in an interview to The Indian Express.
He also spoke about the major issues affecting the Mumbai Suburban Railway, particularly overcrowding and track-related accidents. He said that two non-AC closed-door rakes will be introduced soon and several capacity augmentation works are currently underway, accident-prone locations have been identified, and anti-trespassing measures are being implemented. He also said that passengers will see the new Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in 2027. Edited excerpts:
Like Delhi, Mumbai’s Metro system is expanding. Is that a competition for the city’s suburban railway system?
If we look at history, trams used to run in the city of Mumbai. But they lacked the capacity and speed. They were replaced by the suburban system, which provided high speed and fixed travel time to the passengers. The distance between Churchgate and Virar, which is over 50 km, is covered in an hour. The entire city has been developed around the suburban railway system. This is why it is called the lifeline of Mumbai.
As far as the Metro is concerned, I would say that it complements the entire suburban railway network. The services of Central and Western Railway covers the North to South region of the city. But, East-West connectivity was missing, which is now being provided by the Metro. We are in discussions with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the city planning authority, to develop an integration between suburban and metro stations, so that it can become hassle-free for passengers (to change trains).
Has the total number of passengers in suburban railways reached pre-Covid-19 levels?
The entire Mumbai Suburban network carries around 70-80 lakh passengers per day. The flow of passengers should be seen in the light of the citys development. The Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) is fully developed, which was not there 15-20 years back. The Parel area is also developed and in Navi Mumbai, many big business centres are coming up. This will definitely impact the suburban system.
One thing I want to confirm is that between Dadar to Churchgate and Dadar to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), the passenger load has definitely reduced and that is good. The trains are still full, but they are not growing in the same proportion as they used to earlier, when Parel was not developed.
How does the Railways plan to solve the problems of overcrowding and accidents in the Mumbai Suburban Railway system
Accidents are a major concern not only for the Railways, but the entire city of Mumbai. For this, we have collected deep details on trespassing incidents and why this is happening. We conduct regular meetings with the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
We have done anti-trespassing arrangements, with the boundary wall having been raised on these locations. This work is pending in a few locations. Alongside this, foot over bridges (FOBs) are being constructed and passengers are being continuously informed not to cross the railways tracks on foot.
Due to overcrowding, the accident numbers remain substantial. During the peak hours of the day, people rush to take the train in any possible manner, hang onto trains and, in their hurry, cross the tracks between platforms instead of using the FOBs. This results in accidents.
The solution lies in increasing the carrying capacity of the train and introducing closed door rakes, both airconditioned (AC) and Non-AC. Currently, in the Mumbai Suburban Railway system, many trains are 12-car rakes. We are rapidly expanding them to 15-car rakes.
In the Western Railway, 211 services currently operate with 15-car rakes, and this number will be increased to 250 by this year.
On the Central Railway, there are 22 services running with 15-car rakes and a substantial increase has been planned over the next year. At present, the total number of services on the Central and Western Railway stands at 1,820 and 1,410 respectively. The total number of rakes (trains) is 96 in the Western Railway and 138 in the Central Railway.
In the Western Railway, the 15-car trains run from Andheri to Borivali; we are extending this service to Bandra in Phase-1 in the next 6-7 months. It will be extended further to Dadar and, eventually, to the Mumbai Central. This will augment the capacity by 30 per cent straightway because of 15-car rakes.
Similarly, in the Central railway, the capacity augmentation work is being carried out in 34 stations.
The Railways was planning to introduce closed doors in Non-AC trains? Could you share the status of that move?
Yes, we are planning to introduce two non-AC closed door rakes on a pilot basis by April this year.
We have to check whether it will be feasible and convenient for passengers or not. The route has not been decided yet, but most likely, it will be introduced in the CSMT-Kalyan and Churchgate-Virar section during non-peak hours.We have also done detailed planning for suburban AC trains. The tender is being invited for a total of 238 AC rakes. The plan is to slowly increase AC train services.
Roads have also been developed in the region. Does this pose a challenge to the Railways in terms of freight movement?
I do not see roads as a competitor. We have clearly defined areas and commodities — between the ones that have to be handled by the Railways and the ones to be carried by road.
For example, coal has to be continued by train. After this comes cement, which is another important commodity for the Railways.
For India’s growth, it is important that we minimise the logistics cost and the Railways can play a major role in this.
In the Western Railway, we carry a lot of container traffic from Mundra and Kandla ports. Presently we carry around 100 million tonnes and are targeting to increase it to 200 million tonnes in the next five years. Similarly, the Central Railway will be carrying 80 million tonnes of freight this financial year.
There is significant growth potential in general goods such as e-commerce. This is where container planning must play a major role, with rail transport helping to reduce logistics costs. We are gearing up for this shift. Railway-based logistics parks are being developed across the country and will be connected to ports to move goods efficiently to the hinterland.
Vivek Kumar Gupta spoke about the major issues affecting the Mumbai Suburban Railway, particularly overcrowding and track-related accidents. 
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