Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway)

The Western line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway is an Indian public transit system serving Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Maharashtra. It consists of 37 stations from Dahanu Road to Churchgate railway station. It is operated by Western Railways (WR). The entire line is at grade.

Trains are differentiated as slow and fast locals. Slow trains stop at all stations, while fast ones stop at main stations only and are preferable over longer distances. Trains usually start from and terminate at main stations. The section from Churchgate to Virar is a Quadruple track. An EMU car shed has been built between Nallasopara and Virar which is the largest car shed in both India and Asia. A repair shop for EMUs is situated at Mahalaxmi. There are also EMU car sheds at Mumbai Central and Kandivli. A new EMU car shed at Vangaon has been proposed to support the growing number of local trains to Dahanu Road after the quadrupling project is finished.

Suburban service on what is now the Western line was offered by the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway, which began running steam trains in 1867.^[2] Rakes operating on DC electricity were introduced on 5 January 1928. Leslie Wilson (politician), the then-Governor of Bombay inaugurated the line running between Colaba and Borivali at Mahalaxmi, in the presence of 700 invitees.^[3]

The proposal to ply Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains between Dahanu and Churchgate was approved in the 2012–13 Railway Budget. In March 2013, 18 MEMU services ran between Virar and Dahanu daily.^[4][5]

On 16 April 2013, the 160th anniversary of the Indian Railways,^[6] Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal inaugurated the first EMU service between Churchgate and Dahanu Road.^[7][8] The first Churchgate-Dahanu local was flagged off around 10:47am and arrived at Churchgate at 1:44pm. Prior to the launch of this service, EMU services on WR only ran on the 60 km stretch between Churchgate and Virar.^[9][10]

The Western Line transported 127.94 crore passengers (1.28 billion) in the 2016-17 fiscal year. This is higher than the population of India according to the 2011 Census, which was recorded as 121.01 crores. During the same period, Western Railway sold 270.3 million tickets and 13.7 million season passes, earning a total revenue of ₹818.48 crore (US$97 million) from its suburban rail operations.^[11]

• 12 April 1887: The BB&CI Railway commences daily service between Virar and Backbay.
• 1870: Churchgate station opened.
• 1873: Colaba Terminus commissioned.
• 5 January 1928: First electric train runs between Colaba & Borivali.
• 1930: Colaba station closed.
• 1936: Steam engines are withdrawn from service; Borivali to Virar section electrified. ^[3]
• 2 March 1961: Introduction of 9-car rakes.
• 1972: Total number of services crosses the 500 mark.
• 1986: Introduction of 12-car rakes.
• 1992: Introduction of special trains for ladies and reserved seating for seniors.
• 1993: Introduction of special handicapped compartment.
• 2003: Total number of services crosses the 1,000 mark.
• 11 July 2006: 7 bombs explode on first class coaches of WR trains during rush hour by Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, killing 209 and injuring more than 700.
• 2007: Indian Railways' first ATVMs introduced on WR, DC-AC conversion of Borivali to Virar section completed,^[3] Inauguration of Borivali to Virar new lines with Millennium Rake done by Yadav on 7 July.^[12][13]
• 21 November 2009: Introduction of 15-car rakes.
• 28 February 2010: The Borivali to Virar slow line was converted from DC traction to AC traction, as the fast line was already under AC traction.^[14]
• 29 January 2011: 15 car local trains extended to Churchgate.^[15]
• 13 November 2011: DC-AC conversion of Borivali to Vile Parle section completed.^[3]
• 5 February 2012 : Conversion from DC to AC traction completed (over Vile Parle to Churchgate section).
• 16 April 2013 : Extension of line from Virar to Dahanu Road.
• 27 November 2016 : 37th station, Ram Mandir railway station (originally Oshiwara) was opened between Goregaon and Jogeshwari stations.
• 25 December 2017 : The first air-conditioned suburban train service in India began at 10:32 AM departing from Borivali to Churchgate.^[16][17]
• 30 January 2020: First trans-habour line AC train inaugurated.
• 17 December 2020: First AC local train of Central Railway's Central line was inaugurated at 05:42 AM departing Kurla for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
• 28 June 2021: First 15 car trains introduced on slow corridor.^[18]

(Names in bold indicate that the station is a fast train stop.)

‡ indicates the stations which Fast Up trains (to Churchgate) skip from around 5PM to 8PM.^[19]

;†A footbridge links Parel to Prabhadevi on the Western line. * A footbridge links Matunga to Matunga Road on the Western line, called Matunga Z bridge.

Churchgate railway station is the terminus railway station at the south end of Mumbai city. In Mumbai, Western Line (WR) suburban trains use this station as terminus. Long-distance trains and goods/oil tanker trains terminate at Mumbai Central railway station instead. Trains also going from Mumbai Central to other cities halt at Dadar (DDR), Andheri, Borivali, Vasai Road and Virar.

Above list of stations is mentioned from south end going towards northern suburban areas falling on WR corridor.

Western Railway's EMU fleet consists of EMUs running on AC 25 kV power. WR uses seven 9-car rakes.

The Western line began running electric trains with DC power on 5 January 1928.^[20]

On 5 February 2012, WR finished converting the entire Western line from the earlier used 1,500 V DC to 25 kV AC power. The entire power conversion project cost about ₹500 crore. Since 25 kV AC power is 17 times stronger than DC, people riding on top of the trains will be killed if they come into contact with the overhead wires.^[21]

The project was also expected to improve the punctuality of train services, make them energy-efficient and allow a greater number of 12-coach and 15-coach trains to ply. Post-conversion, local trains will be able to achieve speeds of 100 km/h with ease. The next step would be to convert the remaining 9-coach trains to 12-coach ones, thus augmenting the carrying capacity by 33%.^[22] The system will need less maintenance.^[23]

While using DC traction, 22 substations provided power to suburban trains on the Western line. Since switching over to AC traction, substations at Mahalaxmi, Bandra, Jogeshwari, Borivli and Vasai supply 25 kV power to local trains.^[24]

As of 27 March 2012, the Western line has approximately 1,290 local services running, which carry about 3.55 million commuters every day.^[25] These 1290 local services are operated using 80 trains.^[26] Western Railways' EMUs are in 12 car and 15 car formations.^[27]

The first 9-car service on the Western line ran on 2 March 1961. The 9-car service has since been phased out, and the last service ran on the Western line on 20 November 2012.^[28] However, 10 services (six on CR and four on WR) were still operated as 9-car even after that date, as the track is shared by the Western line and the Harbour line. Harbour line platforms are too short to accommodate longer trains.^[29]

In 2010, 15 car services between Churchgate and Virar were introduced.^[30] They halt at all the stations between Borivli and Virar, and do not halt at any stations between Churchgate and Dadar. 15-coach trains are used in non-peak hours. They cannot be used in peak hours because the station platforms are too narrow to handle the increased foot traffic.^[31]

The following table shows the number of services and daily ridership on the Western line throughout its history.^[33]

WR has escalators at 26 stations including some main stations like Borivali, Andheri, Dadar, Vasai Road and Virar for the common people. This helps the physically challenged and senior citizens.

As of 29 April 2013, there are 102 foot over bridges (FOB)^[34] and 8 subways on the Western line.^[35]

The Train Management System (TMS) is used by both staff and passengers to monitor the location of trains. TMS enables commuters to know what trains will be arriving in the next 10 minutes. The system was implemented on the Western line in 2004.^[36]

Free Wi-Fi facility from the Indian Railways (RailWire) is provided at some stations of the Western Line like Churchgate, Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra, Khar Road, Andheri, Borivali, Bhayander, Vasai Road and Virar.

In 2011, 1,313 commuters died in accidents on the Western line, mainly via trespassing on ten particular stretches of track. Since mid-February 2012, Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel patrol the areas from 7am-11am and 5pm-10pm, the peak times for such incidents. Initially, they used posters in an education campaign and only cautioned offenders. They later escalated to arresting people.^[37]

• Western Railway Elevated Corridor
• Mumbai Suburban Railway
• List of Mumbai Suburban Railway stations
• Western Railways