Doubling Up: Western Railway’s Multi-City Mega-Makeover

Western Railway (WR) is planning to almost double its train-handling capacity over the next five years, with a strong focus on Mumbai and five other major cities—Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Ujjain and Indore.

Under a national programme covering 48 major cities, WR aims to enhance punctuality, ease congestion and improve passenger comfort. The plan includes expanding terminals, setting up new maintenance and stabling facilities, upgrading signalling systems, adding multiple tracks, and developing new terminals in both urban and suburban areas.

In the Mumbai region, WR proposes to introduce around 65 additional long-distance trains and increase capacity on existing services by adding nearly 70 coaches per day.

One of the key projects is the Mumbai Central–Borivali sixth line under MUTP-II, with an estimated cost of Rs 919 crore. The Kandivali–Borivali section is expected to be completed by January 2026. Other ongoing multi-tracking projects include the fifth and sixth lines between Borivali and Virar, and the third and fourth lines between Virar and Dahanu Road.

According to WR officials, these initiatives will help segregate suburban and mainline traffic, leading to smoother train operations and enabling the introduction of more long-distance services.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.