Two years on, ridership in suburban trains still down 13.2% over pre-pandemic levels

Why the ridership has not recovered fully

Officials in the Western and Central Railway say that the slow recovery to pre-pandemic levels is on account of various factors including launch of metro services across various parts of the city, upgrade in BEST services and many companies continuing to give the option of work from home to their employees.

Neeraj Verma, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Western Railway, attributed the decline in ridership to a noticeable decentralisation of workplace centres. He noted that central business districts, which were previously near railway stations, have now shifted. “The changing pattern of workplaces, with more options for alternative modes of transportation such as metro and increased use of scooters and two-wheelers, has contributed to the decline. The Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend, reshaped the employment landscape and led to a greater acceptance of remote work arrangements,” Verma said.

The higher slump in the ridership on the WR suburban network is also due to starting of three metro lines that are serving the western suburbs and running parallel to the WR suburban network.

The Metro Line 7 along the Western Express Highway, Line 2A along the Link Road, and Metro One converge at Andheri railway station, and officials feel that it is contributing to the decline in ridership.

As per ridership data, the entire line has seen over 80 million passengers from April 2022 up to February 20, 2024. According to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which constructed these two elevated metro corridors, ridership is increasing by 5% month-on-month, indicating a growing acceptance of this urban mass transit system. Whereas the city’s first elevated Metro Line between Ghatkopar and Versova was launched on June 8, 2014, which ferries 4 lakh passengers daily.

Besides, an upgrade of BEST services from non-AC to electric AC buses, and the relocation of business centres and offices closer to metro lines has also impacted the return of commuters on the suburban rail network.

An increase in individual ownership of cars, two-wheelers, and scooters during the pandemic period has also played a role in the decline in ridership as a larger number of people now opt for personal vehicles.

In comparison to the WR, the recovery in ridership on the Central Railway suburban network is higher as it had a shortfall of only 9.08 per cent in 2023-24 over that seen in the financial year ending March 2020. Sources say that this is because the CR suburban network has not seen much impact as there are no metro lines running parallel on the route. The only metro that connects is the Mumbai Metro One, en route to Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova route, which integrates with Ghatkopar suburban station on CR.

Reviving the demand

In response to the declining ridership, Western and Central Railway are now focusing on enhancing their services to match the standards of the metro. Officials say they are planning to add more AC trains, with a long-term vision to convert all local trains to AC.

CR is already working on improving services and planning for the fifth and sixth line between CSMT and Parel in two phases. The first phase, between Kurla and Parel, and the second phase, between CSMT and Parel, are underway with land acquisition in progress.

“These new lines will separate long-distance trains from the suburban rail corridor, allowing for more services and preventing overcrowding. Although ridership has not yet reached pre-Covid levels, trains are crowded during peak hours. As the metro expands in MMR, CR plans to increase AC train services. This will not only provide a more comfortable travel experience but also reduce unfavourable incidents. The future goal is to have AC closed-door trains, with 66 services already running and receiving a positive response. With improved travel quality comparable to the metro, this will become more common,” said Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer, CR

In the current financial year, the Western Railway recorded a total of 101.26 crore both journey and season tickets across all classes (second, first, and AC), which is 81.62 per cent of the ridership of 124.15 crore witnessed in 2019-20. It, however, surpassed the previous year’s total ridership record by 4.4 percent.

In comparison, the Mumbai division of Central Railway suburban corridor witnessed ridership, both daily and season tickets of 137 crore, in the current financial year, attaining 90.96% of total ridership compared to 2019-20 year’s total ridership, which stood at 151.36 crore. It, however, breached the previous year figure of 129.15 crore.

A study by the Asian Development Bank on Mumbai Metro’s transformation of transport in June 2021 highlighted that the Mumbai suburban rail system is among the most overcrowded public transport systems globally, carrying over 7.5 million passengers daily on its nearly 400 km network. Despite the overcrowding, the average distance travelled by commuters in the suburban railways is the highest at 23.8 km per trip compared to other modes of transport.

Western Railway operates 199 services of 15 coaches, out of a total of 1,394 local services run daily, including 96 AC services. On the other hand, Central Railway has 22 services of 15 coaches each, out of the total 1,810 local services operated daily, including 66 AC services.