17 December,2025 04:39 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Several projects are underway to enhance railway capacity in Mumbai, Railway Minister said. Representational Pic/File
Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnav on Wednesday informed Parliament that several projects are underway to enhance railway capacity in Mumbai, with a focus on safety and passenger convenience.
As part of the plan, 238 new trains with automatic door closure systems are being procured. The Railways said this is a practical solution aimed at improving commuter safety, especially on Mumbai's heavily crowded suburban network.
At present, Mumbai sees the operation of around 120 mail and express trains and over 3,200 suburban local trains every day. To manage this high volume of traffic, multiple infrastructure works are being carried out across the city and its suburbs.
The Railways said that three pit lines at Bandra have already been completed and several other projects are currently in progress, including-
- Expansion of the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) depot
- Construction of six new platforms at Parel
- Six platforms at Kalyan
- Five platforms each at Panvel and Kalamboli
- Extension of platforms at Mumbai Central to accommodate 24-coach trains
- Two platforms at Jogeshwari
- One additional platform at Dadar
- Six platforms at Vasai Road
- Work Progressing at Fast Pace
The Railway Minister said that work on capacity enhancement in Mumbai, as well as in other major cities, is progressing at a fast pace to meet growing passenger demand and improve overall rail services.
Meanwhile, last week, the Parliament was informed that Aadhaar-based OTP verification for online Tatkal ticket booking is now active in 322 trains, helping curb misuse and improve fairness in the system, the IANS has reported.
According to the government, the introduction of the verification method has increased the availability window for confirmed Tatkal tickets by around 65 per cent in these trains.
Aadhaar OTP verification for Tatkal bookings at reservation counters is also being implemented in phases and is currently operational in 211 trains as of 4 December. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that, because of this measure, confirmed Tatkal ticket availability time has risen in nearly 95 per cent of the 96 most popular trains, according to the IANS.
The minister further said that strict revalidation and verification of user accounts had been carried out. Since January 2025, approximately 3.02 crore suspicious user IDs have been deactivated. Anti-bot solutions such as AKAMAI have been deployed to block non-genuine users and ensure smooth booking for legitimate passengers, the news agency reported.
Complaints regarding suspiciously booked PNRs were being submitted to the National Cyber Crime Portal, he added.
(with IANS inputs)
