Mumbai: Western Railway rolls out 15-coach trains on Virar–Dahanu route for the first time; frequency unchanged
(File photo)For commuters on the Virar–Dahanu stretch, the daily struggle is familiar: infrequent trains, long waits, and services that are already packed by the time they cross Virar. From May 1, Western Railway is taking a small but meaningful step to ease the crush: longer trains. For the first time, 15-coach local trains will run on the Virar–Dahanu section. Seventeen existing 12-coach services will be converted to 15-coach trains, raising the total count of such services from 227 to 244. Of these, six will run on the Virar–Dahanu Road stretch and two will run all the way from Churchgate to Dahanu Road.The change means each train will carry more passengers. What it does not mean is more trains. The total number of suburban services on the corridor stays the same, around 42 daily, so waiting times between trains will remain unchanged for now. The reason more trains cannot simply be added is structural. On the Virar–Dahanu corridor, suburban locals share the same tracks with long-distance trains, leaving little room to increase frequency. The long-term solution, the Virar–Dahanu quadrupling project, which will add two new dedicated lines and separate suburban traffic from long-distance trains, is still under construction. Until it is completed, meaningful frequency improvements remain out of reach. The May 1 rollout was made possible by recent platform upgrades at Virar station, where platforms were widened from 6.5 metres to 10.5 metres and a new platform was added, allowing longer rakes to operate. Commuters should note one practical change: the 15-coach trains will not stop at Grant Road, Charni Road and Marine Lines stations, as platforms there are not long enough to accommodate them. They will make a double halt at Dadar station. Separately, Western Railway is also converting 12 non-AC local services into AC trains, taking the total number of AC services from 133 to 145 on weekdays and from 106 to 118 on weekends. Again, this is a conversion within the existing timetable, not an addition of new services.Story continues below this ad “The corridor has been witnessing increasing demand, and these changes are aimed at making more efficient use of the existing infrastructure,” said Vineet Abhishek of Western Railway.
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