Soon, 15-coach trains will ply on slow corridor between Andheri and Virar

The railway authorities are trying all possible way to provide better mobility to commuters, the Western Railway has now planned to run 15coach trains on the slow corridor between Andheri and Virar which will reduce the crowd compare to existing coaches.

A senior railway official said the trains running on the slow corridor between Andheri and Virar are expected to be crowded during peak hours due to which it gets difficult for the passengers to get down at their destination. “The slow corridor between Andheri and Virar was selected as there is a heavy rush in this section for which we have planned to run 15-coach trains,” said Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relation Officer, WR

Currently, 15-coach trains ply only on the fast corridor and all services on slow corridor have 12 coaches. “In order to ply 15 coach trains on the WR slow corridor we will need to extend at least 25 platforms on 14 stations in the section to accommodate the longer rakes,” added Bhakar.

WR official said either the platforms will be extended on a single side or on both sides by up to 76 metres. The length of platform number one and

This move will definitely help reduce crowd in the existing coaches

two will be extended at most stations, while platform number two and three and three and four will be extended in some cases.

He further added they have started with the bidding process to appoint a contractor for extending the platforms. The estimated cost for the project is ₹25 crore. “The 12-car train carries 4,300 commuters daily. The 15-car train will be able to carry over 5,000 passengers,” said a railway official.

The carrying capacity of passenger of the 15-coach trains is 25 per cent more than 12-coach trains. WR operates 42 fast services with three 15-coach locals. CR launched these trains on its fast corridor in 2012 and runs 16 services.