Overview | |
---|---|
Locale | Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Maharashtra, India |
Transit type | Suburban Rail |
Number of lines | 6 |
Number of stations |
|
Daily ridership | 7.585 million |
Annual ridership | 2.64 billion |
Headquarters |
Churchgate (WR) Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CR) |
Website | Central Railway |
Operation | |
Began operation | 16 April 1853 |
Operator(s) |
|
Train length |
12 or 15 coaches(earlier there used to exist 7 to 9 coach local trains but they were closed in 2015.) 12/15 coaches |
Technical | |
System length | 427.5 kilometres (265.6 mi) |
Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) |
Electrification | 25,000 V AC overhead catenary |
Average speed | 50 km/h (31 mph) |
Top speed | 100 km/h (62 mph) |
12 or 15 coaches(earlier there used to exist 7 to 9 coach local trains but they were closed in 2015.)
Mumbai Suburban Railway consists of exclusive inner suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines serving outlying suburbs to serve the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Spread over 465 kilometres (289 mi), the suburban railway operates 2,342 train services and carries more than 7.5 million commuters daily. By annual ridership (2.64 billion), the Mumbai Suburban Railway is one of the busiest commuter rail systems in the world and it has some of the most severe overcrowding in the world. Trains run from 04:00 until 01:00, and some trains also run up to 02:30.
The Mumbai Suburban Railway is an offshoot of the first railway to be built by the British in India, and is also the oldest railway system in Asia. The first train ran between Bori Bunder (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) and Thane, a distance of 34 km, on 16 April 1853 at 15:35. The 14-coach train took 1.25 h to complete the 34 km journey, with a halt at Bhandup to refill the train's water tanks. Since 1991, it has been expanded rapidly. The Bombay Railway History Group has been striving to document railway heritage along this line.
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system is operated by Indian Railways' two zonal divisions Western Railways (WR) and Central Railways (CR). The fast commuter rail corridors on Central Railway as well as Western Railway are shared with long distance and freight trains, while inner suburban services operate on exclusive parallel tracks. WR operates the Western Line and CR operates the Central Line, Harbour Line, Trans-Harbour Line as well as the Vasai Road-Diva-Panvel line.
The Western Line follows the Western Railway northwards from Churchgate parallel to the west coast. Local services by electric multiple units (EMUs) ply between Churchgate and Dahanu Road (120 km) on exclusive parallel tracks up to Virar (60 km) while Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMUs) service the section beyond Virar to Dahanu Road (60 km). On 16 April 2013 EMU has extended up to Dahanu Road. MEMUs also operate between Dahanu Road and Panvel via a branch line from Bhiwandi road-Vasai Road. There are EMU carsheds at Mumbai Central and Kandivali. The largest EMU car shed in Asia is located between Nala Sopara and Virar. A repair shop for EMUs is situated at Mahalaxmi.