Maharashtra: Study suggests adding coaches to ease congestion on Konkan Railway corridor

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A passenger welfare body's study has proposed a low-cost solution to ease congestion on the Konkan Railway corridor: simply run existing trains with the maximum number of coaches they are already permitted to haul. According to the study, augmenting just 10 trains could add about 45 coaches and 3691 seats daily - equivalent to introducing nearly two full-length trains in each direction - without adding a single new track or train path.

The study found that all 10 trains analysed are running below their permissible coach capacity, leaving substantial unused carrying potential on one of the country's most saturated rail corridors.

Explained

Why can't coaches simply be added?
Longer trains require:
. Longer pit lines for maintenance
. Longer platforms at terminals
. Adequate maintenance windows
. Availability of additional coaches
The study argues these are operational issues - not track-capacity issues.

Why this matters

The Konkan Railway corridor is nearing saturation, making it difficult to introduce new train services.
The study argues that instead of waiting years for infrastructure expansion, Indian Railways can immediately increase passenger capacity by:

. Attaching more coaches to existing trains
. Extending pit lines
. Shifting maintenance facilities where required

Biggest opportunity

Vande Bharat Express (22229/22230)
Current rake: 8 coaches
Permissible: 20 coaches

Potential addition:
12 coaches
Recommendation:
. Introduce a full 20-coach rake.
. Shift primary maintenance to Madgaon if existing Central Railway facilities cannot accommodate longer rakes.

What the study recommends

Infrastructure
. Extend pit line lengths.
. Upgrade maintenance facilities.
. Shift maintenance to stations with longer pit lines.
. Use KRCL's Madgaon facility wherever feasible.

Operations
. Run every train with its maximum permissible coach composition.
. Prepare time-bound augmentation plans for trains owned by different railway zones.

What passenger groups say

Akshay Mahapadi,
‘Given the constraints on introducing new train services due to line capacity limitations, coach augmentation remains the most cost-effective and practical solution. Every train operating on this heavily utilised corridor should ideally be run with its maximum permissible coach composition.'

Jayawant Darekar,
‘The proposals would collectively result in approximately 45 additional coaches and about 3,691 extra seats per day. This is equivalent to introducing nearly two additional full-length trains in each direction without requiring any additional train paths.'

Railways disputed study on technical grounds

. A Tejas rake cannot serve as a backup for a Vande Bharat because both use different technologies.

. Madgaon may not be able to undertake primary maintenance for many trains as several trains halt there only briefly and primary maintenance requires more than four hours.

. Most trains on the Konkan route belong to other railway zones, not Konkan Railway.

Central Railway's stand

CR officials said several capacity-enhancement projects are already underway, including:

. Expansion of Mumbai CSMT platforms

. Additional pit lines at Wadi Bunder

. Infrastructure upgrades at multiple Mumbai terminals

Officials said these projects are aimed at accommodating longer mail and express trains across Indian Railways.