Central Railway to Upgrade 22 Suburban Services to 15 Coaches From August 15

Central Railway is set to upgrade 22 suburban services on its main line from 12 coaches to 15 coaches starting August 15, modifying operations for several trains including routes terminating at Dadar to ease commuter congestion.

With three additional coaches added to each rake, the carrying capacity of each upgraded service will increase by approximately 25 per cent. The expansion is aimed at benefiting passengers travelling to and from Ambernath, Badlapur, Karjat, and Khopoli.

Following the rollout, the total number of 15-coach local services on the Central Railway network will rise from 32 to 54. Out of the 22 upgraded services, 11 are scheduled to operate during peak rush hours. Key peak-hour services receiving the upgrade include the 8.27 am Ambernath-CSMT local and the 10 am Khopoli-Karjat local in the morning, along with the 7.42 pm CSMT-Ambernath and 7.50 pm CSMT-Karjat services in the evening.

The deployment of longer rakes will also result in operational changes to existing routes. Services operating between Khopoli and Parel will now run up to Dadar, while CSMT-Ambernath services will also be routed to operate up to Dadar. Despite the coach additions and route adjustments, the overall number of daily suburban services run by Central Railway will remain unchanged at 1,820.

Central Railway has been gradually expanding its 15-coach fleet over the past decade. The first 15-coach local was launched on October 16, 2012, with 16 services. Six additional services were upgraded in April 2019, bringing the count to 22, followed by another 10 services converted on July 20, 2026, to reach 32. With this latest batch of 22 services, more than half of all 15-coach trains will serve commuters on the main line.