Commuter Accessory Systems for Suburban Bombay Trains / Street Vendors Mimetic Scheme / Monuments and Edifices

 

Commuter Accessory Systems for Suburban Bombay Trains

The city of Mumbai has been developing rapidly. Due to scarcity of land on the island city, the city has grown along a north south axis with all the businesses located in the south of Bombay and the residential quarters in the north. There is thus a torrent of people traveling to south for work in the morning and back home again to the north in the evening.

The commuters are packed tighter than sardines in a can. The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation has been installing additional lines to ease the over crowding. The phase one due to be complete in the next 1 or 2 years will see the addition of 93 km of tracks and an addition of 101 new 9-car rakes The second phase to be completed in the following 4 to 6 years will decrease the overcrowding from the present 5000 commuters / train to 3000 / train.

Facts and figures about the Mumbai Local train net work:

1. Carries 6.1 million commuters per day which is the highest passenger density and most intensively utilised system in the world.
2. The train system is 79 years old.
3. The network is Spread over 302 route kilometers.
4. It operates on 1500 V DC power supply from overhead catenary lines.
5. 184 rakes (train sets) of 9-car and 12-car composition operate on the system
6. 2067 train services are run per day.
7. 4,700 passengers travel per 9-car train during peak hours, as against the rated carrying capacity of 1,760.
8. The super dense crush load on the train floor is of14-16 standing passengers per square metre or 1.4 bodies per square foot.
9. 3,500 passengers, annually; or 10 a day, are killed in grisly accidents.
10. Two zonal Railways, the Western Railway (WR) and the Central Railway (CR), operate the Mumbai Suburban Railway system. At present, the fast corridors on Central Railway as well as Western Railway are shared for long distance (main line) and freight trains.

Western Line

  • Two corridors (one local and other through) on Western Railway run northwards from Churchgate terminus parallel to the west coast up to Virar (60 km). These corridors are popularly referred to as 'Western Line'.
  • The frequency of the trains is 3 minutes.
  • The western railway suburban service ferries about 3 million people everyday on approximately 961 trains.
  • The Western line from Churchgate to Dahisar has about 3000 slum families

    Central Line

  • Two corridors (one local and other through) on Central Railway run from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Kalyan (54 km),from where it bifurcates into Kalyan-Kasara (67 km) in the north-east and Kalyan-Karjat-Khopoli(61 km) in south-east. These corridors are popularly referred to as 'Central Line' or 'Main Line'.
  • During peak hours 96 trains come into CST and 104 leave in the evening.
  • The central line has 102 rakes in service. Eighty-four rakes are running and 4 are standby and remaining are under overhauling.
  • The frequency of the trains is 4-7 minutes.
  • The Central line from Victoria Terminus (VT) to Thane has about 8,000 families living alongside the track

    Harbour Line

  • The 5th corridor on Central Railway runs from CST to Raoli Junction (11 km) from where the line splits. One line goes north west to join WR at Mahim and goes up to Andheri (11 km), and the other goes eastward to terminate at Panvel (39 km) via Navi Mumbai. This corridor is popularly referred to as 'Harbour Line'.
  • The Harbour line from V.T. to Mankhurd around 13,000.

    11. Under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project the city will receive newly designed coaches. The coaches are built of stainless steel, and have cushioned seats, bigger windows, better suspension and ventilation. 101 new trains have been procured under the project at a total cost of Rs 1,900 crore (19 billion)

    During peak hours, passengers frantically fight for a foothold near the doorway, cling to window sills or scamper onto the roof. Those hanging from open doorways must keep a lookout for metal poles that hold overhead electrical lines. Pole dodging has become a popular sport for daredevil teenagers who "win" if they are the last to pull back. Death-by-pole has become regular fodder for the local press. But more than half of all train-related deaths -- occur when passengers take shortcuts along the tracks to avoid walkways teeming with hawkers selling snacks, flowers and other goods, according to Patel. Impatient commuters risk their lives crossing the tracks to reach nearby platforms.

    Mumbai Urban Transport Project

    In 1988-90, a study by the Government of Maharashtra (GOM) with World Bank assistance recommended major investments both in the suburban rail and the road systems for effectively dealing with the urban transportation issues, with active participation of the Ministry of Railways. This led to the conceptualisation of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). A decision to participate in the implementation of the rail components of MUTP on a 50:50 basis between IR and GOM was taken in a meeting between the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the Railways Minister in December 1993. Subsequently, the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) was set up as a joint venture between the Indian Railways and the Government of Maharashtra.

    Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporatin (MVRC)

    The MRVC is a Government Company registered under the Company's Act of 1956 with equity participation in the ratio 51:49 between the Indian Railways and the Government of Maharashtra. Its main objectives are : execution of project identified under MUTP as also other rail projects in the Mumbai region; commercial utilisation of the Railway's land and air space; and coordination between the Central and Western Railways and the Government of Maharashtra and other related agencies for evolving and executing suitable plans for the development of the Mumbai Suburban Rail System.

    The rail component of MUTP consists of 14 projects for optimization and augmentation of the Mumbai Suburban Railway System. After completion of these projects, the Railway will be able to run around 2600 trains daily each with 12-car composition. Nine of these projects are being taken up in the first phase. These are: 5th line between Santacruz-Borivali, 5th and 6th lines between Kurla-Thane; Borivali-Bhayander quad-track; Bhayander-Virar quad-track; Western Railway Optimization; Central Line Optimization; and Harbour Line Optimization (these will result in increased train frequency and rake size on these corridors) DC/AC Conversion; and EMU Coach Re-Manufacturing.

    The projects listed for the Phase II include : 5th line Kurla-CST: 6th line Borivilli-Santacruz ;Western Railway 12-car rake on local line and increased train frequency ; Central Railways 12-car rake on local line and increased train frequency ; and New East-West line and reconstruction on Bandra and Kurla stations.The total cost of the projects in Phase-I and Phase-II is expected to be Rs.5618.36 crore. Of this, the World Bank will provide Rs.3101.62 crore while the remaining Rs.2156.74 crore will be shared by the Indian Railways and the Government of Maharashtra on a 50:50 basis.