January 23, 2026: Western Railway has prepared a long-term plan to gradually extend 15-car suburban trains up to Mumbai Central on the slow corridor, aiming to ease persistent overcrowding on Mumbai’s suburban railway network. The rollout will be implemented in phases and will involve supporting infrastructure upgrades, including platform extensions and system improvements.
The plan was outlined by Vivek Kumar Gupta, General Manager of both Central and Western Railway, in an exclusive interview with mid-day. Gupta, a 1988-batch Indian Railway Service of Engineers officer, has worked across Metro rail planning, suburban rail operations and high-speed rail projects, including the bullet train corridor.
Reflecting on his current role, Gupta said: “My role has largely been focused on planning and execution rather than public-facing advocacy. Early in my career with RITES, I worked on alignment design and planning for Mumbai Metro Line 2 and Line 4, which involved feasibility studies and demand assessment.”
As general manager of Mumbai’s two suburban networks, he said the priority is completing pending corridors and upgrading existing infrastructure. “Having also led the National High Speed Rail Corporation, the task now is to ensure that suburban rail, Metro and other rail-based systems evolve in a coordinated manner rather than in isolation,” he said.
Addressing the expansion of the Metro network, Gupta noted: “The suburban railway will continue to be Mumbai’s primary lifeline even after the Metro network is completed. The Metro is designed to complement the suburban system, not replace it.”
On measures to reduce crowding, he said extending longer trains is among the most effective steps. “One of the most effective short-term measures is the systematic increase in the number of 15-car local trains,” he said. On Western Railway, such services currently operate between Andheri and Virar, with work underway to extend them to Bandra. In the first phase, the plan is to take them to Dadar and eventually to Mumbai Central.
On Central Railway, platforms are being lengthened and infrastructure upgraded to support longer trains, alongside an increase in AC local services from January 26. Gupta also highlighted ongoing projects at Kalyan, Panvel and Kurla as part of broader network upgrades planned over the coming years.
Source: Mid-day
