24 June,2026 09:50 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The first two months of this year show a decline of around two per cent in suburban patronage. File Pic/Rajendra B Aklekar
Have the five functional Metro lines in Mumbai started making an impact? The city's chronically overcrowded Western Railway (WR) suburban network may finally be showing signs of easing, with officials reporting a marginal decline in ridership that they believe is partly due to commuters shifting to the expanding Metro network.
While the trend could provide much-needed relief to packed local trains in the short term, railway authorities caution that it may not be permanent, especially as WR prepares to induct more air-conditioned local services that could attract passengers back to the suburban system.
Ramashray Pandey, general manager, Western Railway. Pic/By Special Arrangement
WR General Manager Ramashray Pandey said, "WR runs 1414 local services, and the 145 AC services constitute just 10 per cent of them. We will ensure that in future, when AC services are added, they don't run back-to-back. Moreover, there are plans to increase services proportionally as non-AC services grow. There is an independent project to get 238 AC locals for Mumbai by the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation."
1 How is WR using passenger data to redesign timetables?
WR's Mumbai division uses ridership and operational data from its annual timetable revision cycle to identify capacity gaps. For instance, in October 2024, it added 12 new services and upgraded 10 trains from 12-car to 15-car rakes, raising daily services from 1394 to 1406. Route-level demand analysis also drives reallocation decisions, such as shifting rakes from the CSMT-Borivli Harbour route to the busier Churchgate-Virar corridor to better match passenger load.
2 Could wearable technology, drones, or AI-powered cameras help detect trespassing in real time?
WR has deployed over 4500 AI-enabled facial recognition cameras at entry/exit points, platforms, and ticket counters across its suburban network, assisting RPF and GRP in crime detection, crowd management, and tracing missing persons. Drone surveillance has also been integrated as part of WR's enhanced security framework developed with RPF, GRP, and intelligence agencies, supplementing over 3000 CCTV cameras - 305 of them inside trains - under the Integrated Security System.
3 Has climate change altered the way WR plans for monsoon operations?
Drawing lessons from past years, WR now operates in mission mode for pre-monsoon work, including raising low-lying tracks in vulnerable sections. This year, the plan included building a 4.5 km retaining wall along the Vasai-Virar corridor, and installing SCADA [Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition]-based water-level monitoring on four strategic bridges with real-time SMS alerts, fixing problems at Matunga. WR has also significantly scaled up its flood-response infrastructure, deploying 126 high-capacity dewatering pumps, 40 flood gauges, six automated rain gauges, and drone-based culvert inspections.
The Red Line 7 and Yellow Line 2A are on either side of the Western Line. Officials believe that these corridors offer improved connectivity, air-conditioned travel and reduced travel times on several routes, encouraging some commuters to shift modes. The impact is particularly visible on corridors where Metro lines run parallel to or complement the suburban railway network.
According to officials, WR recorded a negative suburban growth of 0.2 per cent in 2025. The trend appears to have intensified in 2026, with the first two months showing a decline of around 2 per cent in suburban patronage.
The emerging suburban railway figures suggest that travel patterns are evolving as the city's multimodal transport network expands. Railway authorities are closely monitoring the trend and assessing its long-term implications for service planning and capacity utilisation.
