Central Railway locals serve 26 lakh passengers daily; 11 lakh on just Thane-Karjat/Kasara stretch

Time of India

7 hours ago

Mumbai: Of the 26 lakh passengers who travel daily on the Central Railway (CR) Main line, nearly 11 lakh travel between Thane and Karjat or Kasara, highlighting the mounting burden on the suburban stretch.
Kaustubh Shinde, an HR professional, said the chaos during rush hour was unbelievable on the CR. "I often can't get off at Mulund as bulky commuters with large backpacks block the exit. Not even a mouse could squeeze through. It's frustrating," he said.
The CR has ramped up daily services to 894 from 803 in 2014. Nearly 70% of these—182 in the morning and 188 in the evening—run during peak hours. The frequency up to Kalyan has been increased to a train every three minutes.
Transport experts say this may not be enough. Ashok Datar of the Mumbai Mobility Forum said the govt must enforce staggered work timings across private and public sectors to ease the pressure.
"Even if 40% of office-goers travel at staggered hours, it can bring visible relief. We can consider shifts like 8.30 am–3.30 pm and 11.30 am–7.30 pm, with only 20% employees on the traditional general shift," he said, adding that essential services like hospitals and police should be exempt from this arrangement.
Transport expert Vivek Pati said the train incident on Monday was a reminder that urgent structural reforms were needed. "The Thane-Kalyan stretch has the highest commuter density, and unless we address it with more tracks, cheaper AC train options and better frequency, such incidents will keep repeating. Mixed land use and staggered office hours are a necessity, not a luxury," Pati said.
Rail Yatri Parishad chairman Subhash Gupta blamed the overcrowding on the gradual phasing out of non-AC trains.
"AC locals during peak hours end up increasing crowd build-up for the next non-AC train," he said. "People risk their lives, hanging by the doors. Most commuters from distant suburbs earn modest salaries. A Rs 5,000, the AC season pass is unaffordable for many. With Metro connectivity improving and those systems already air-conditioned, there is no rush to convert all locals into AC ones."
Gupta dismissed the idea of automatic door closures on ordinary locals. "It's been discussed for years but isn't practical. Doors take time to open and close and will delay overall services," he said.