To ease the daily crush of Mumbai’s commuter traffic, Central Railway (CR) has begun converting 20 of its existing 12-car suburban rakes into 15-car formations at one go, marking one of the most significant capacity expansions on the line in over a decade. The upgrade, long demanded by commuters and transport planners, will add an estimated 3,12,000 to 3,36,000 additional passenger-carrying slots per day, thanks to the extra three coaches in each rake and the 12-13 trips typically operated by a single train set.

Sources said that with this, it will also be advisable for the Railways to rationalise the number of services too. This adjustment will be necessary to account for the additional running time associated with the longer rake formations, as well as the modified acceleration and braking characteristics of 15-car trains.