THE CENTRAL Railway plans to increase the number of 15-coach local train services from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) by March this year with the completion of the extension of Platform 6, a move expected to ease congestion on some of the busiest suburban corridors.
At present, 15-coach locals operate only from Platform 7 at CSMT, with nearly 22 such services running daily. Once Platform 6 becomes operational for longer rakes, the railways intend to add another set of services, effectively doubling the number of long-rake operations from the terminus, officials said.
The platform extension forms part of a broader station expansion project at CSMT aimed at enabling the handling of longer suburban trains. Railway officials said a dilapidated structure on the Kurla end near Platform 7 was demolished and certain operations shifted towards Platform 18 to clear space for the alignment required for the extension.
In the first phase, two new 15-coach rakes are expected to be inducted into service. On average, a suburban rake completes 10 to 12 trips a day. With the addition of two rakes, the number of daily trips operated by 15-coach locals from CSMT could rise to over 40, according to officials familiar with the plan.
“The additional long-rake services will help reduce crowding during peak hours and provide commuters with more travel options,” a senior Central Railway official said. The move is expected to benefit passengers on the heavily-used CSMT–Kurla and CSMT–Thane sections, which account for a large share of the terminal’s suburban footfall.
Railway officials said the expansion could raise CSMT’s suburban carrying capacity by nearly 8 to 10 per cent, with peak-hour capacity on the two corridors increasing by nearly 10 to 12 per cent.
The extension of a single platform at CSMT will enable the number of 15-coach local services from CSMT to rise from the current 22 to nearly 44 a day after the expansion, adding 18 to 22 new long-rake services daily.
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The additional trains are expected to create capacity for nearly 50,000 to 60,000 more passengers a day, raising the terminus’s suburban carrying capacity by about 8 to 10 per cent, with peak-hour capacity on the CSMT–Kurla and CSMT–Thane corridors increasing by nearly 10 to 12 per cent.
Platform extension work is also underway at 34 other stations across the suburban network, of which 24 have already been completed, the Railways said.
