Mumbai: Mumbai’s local train services are the most preferred mode of travel by commuters. The local train services or suburban services thus are aptly known as the "lifeline" of India’s financial capital.
As 2019 comes to an end, let’s take a look at some of the major changes that have been incorporated by the Indian Railways for local services in Mumbai to facilitate the travel experience of lakhs of commuters.
Western Railway's air-conditioned services were extended for Saturdays and Sundays from Sept 14, 2019. Earlier, the AC local in Mumbai used to run five days a week.
The state-of-the-art ‘Uttam Rake’ with improved interiors and advanced mechanism was started on November 5. The local train now has features that have helped in making travel a better experience for Mumbaikars.
The Central Railway zone has increased the 15-car services from 16 to 22 daily, thereby creating 25 per cent more accommodation.
In 2019, the Parel Terminus was also commissioned. The suburban services of 38 Dadar trains have been extended up to Parel. The total number of services on the Harbour Line is 614 daily,
while the total services on the Trans-harbour line are 262 daily. Central Railway also increased the total services on the Main line from 856 to 858 daily. The total suburban services on the Central Railway increased from 1,772 to 1,774 daily.
The Western Railway zone has also commissioned 24 new foot over bridges (FOBs) in the Mumbai suburban section, taking the total to 119 FOBs from 95.
Advance suburban trains indicators
The Central Railway zone has also installed big screen indicators at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) suburban station and is going to install the same on prominent suburban stations, which will give the departure time of 30 upcoming local trains.
Earlier, the advance train indicator for showing information for the next five suburban trains for the Main and Harbour lines were provided separately in the suburban area at CSMT.
The Western Railway zone has installed CCTV cameras in 45 rakes covering ladies coaches of EMU rakes. Around 1,096 CCTV cameras have been installed at important stations in the Western Railway zone in the suburban section for surveillance. Also, solar mobile charging kiosks were installed at 15 suburban stations of the Western Railway.
