Slow Coach: 15-car train expansion plan drags

The project envisages extending 50 platforms at 34 stations on the CSMT/Kalyan/Kasara/Khopoli corridor, to reduce overcrowding in Mumbai’s suburban trains. Each 15-car train can carry 25% more passengers than 12-coach trains, that is, 1,000-1,500 more commuters per train

MUMBAI: The Central Railway’s effort to stretch the carrying capacity of its trains is progressing at snail’s pace, missing its deadline by nine months. The reason, the railway admits, is that work on extending suburban platforms to accommodate 15-car trains is taking longer than expected, pushing project completion from March to December 2026.

Slow Coach: 15-car train expansion plan drags

The project envisages extending 50 platforms at 34 stations on the CSMT/Kalyan/Kasara/Khopoli corridor, to reduce overcrowding in Mumbai’s suburban trains. Each 15-car train can carry 25% more passengers than 12-coach trains, that is, 1,000-1,500 more commuters per train.

“Work on seven stations is complete, and we aim to cover 20 more stations by the end of May,” said an CR official. “The remaining seven stations will be completed by December. The rail infrastructure around these stations, whether tracks or signalling systems, is complicated, making it time consuming,” the official said.

Platform extension work is being executed by different agencies. The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) is responsible for four stations, the construction department of the Central Railway headquarters for six stations, and the Mumbai division for 24 stations.

On the fast corridor between CSMT and Kalyan, platform extension work at stations such as CSMT, Vikhroli, Kalwa, Mumbra and Diva is delayed. On the slow corridor, between Thane and Kalyan, work is crawling at stations such as Thane, Kalwa, Mumbra, Diva, Kopar, Dombivali, Thakurli and Kalyan. Similarly, extension work has stalled at several stations on the Kalyan–Kasara/Karjat routes.

Delayed platform extension has also postponed a proposed revision in the railway’s suburban train timetable. “The new timetable was to be implemented by April, which would include the 15-car trains. The railways never stick to deadlines,” said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president, Federation of Suburban Rail Passengers Association.

Suburban commuters reeling under the summer heat are navigating what seems like an obstacle course at some stations, where renovation work is underway. Debris from construction work is scattered across platforms, while the roofs over platforms have been temporarily brought down at some stations.