Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway)

Western Line
Overview
Owner	Indian Railway
Locale	Mumbai, Maharashtra Mira-Bhayandar, Maharashtra Vasai-Virar, Maharashtra
Termini	Churchgate Virar
Stations	28
Service
System	Mumbai Suburban Railway
Services	List Churchgate - Virar Churchgate - Vasai Road Churchgate - Bhayander Churchgate - Borivali Churchgate - Goregaon Churchgate - Andheri Churchgate - Bandra Churchgate - Mumbai Central Borivali - Vasai Road Borivali - Bandra Borivali - Dadar Borivali - Mumbai Central Borivali - Mahalaxmi Dadar - Bhayander Andheri - Bhayander Andheri - Vasai Road Virar - Lower Parel Virar - Dadar Virar - Bandra Virar - Andheri Virar - Borivali
Operator(s)	Western Railway (WR)
History
Opened	January 5, 1928
Technical
Line length	60 km (37 mi)
Character	At Grade
Track gauge	1676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Broad Gauge
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)

The Western Line is the name given to all routes of the Mumbai Suburban Railway operated by Western Railways (WR). It is a public transit system serving the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Maharashtra. It consists of 36 stations from Dahanu Road to Churchgate. The entire line is at grade.

Two corridors (one local and the other through) on Western Railway run northwards from Churchgate terminus parallel to the west coast up to Dahanu Road (120 km). These corridors are popularly referred to as 'Western Line' by the locals mainly because it is operated and owned by the Western Railways. Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) ply between Churchgate and Virar, while Mainline Electrical Multiple Units (MEMUs) service the section beyond Virar till Dahanu Road (60 km). MEMUs also operate between Dahanu Road and Panvel via a branch line from Vasai Road. There are EMU carsheds at Mumbai Central and Kandivali. An EMU carshed is under construction between Nala Sopara and Virar which will be the largest carshed in Asia. A repair shop for EMUs is situated at Mahalaxmi. Trains are differentiated as slow and fast locals. Slow trains halt at all stations, while fast ones halt at important stations only and are preferable over longer distances. Trains usually start from and terminate at important stations.

Newly cladded Churchgate Station, Western Railway Headquarter

New trains on the Western Railway

WR locals run up to Virar; from there, commuters have to either use diesel multiple unit shuttle trains or inter-state passenger trains.

Stations

Train leaving Churchgate station

Andheri (E) station

(Names in bold indicate that the station is a fast train stop.)

Western Line
#	Station Name			Abbreviation	Connections
	English	Hindi	Marathi
1	Churchgate	चर्चगेट	चर्चगेट	C	None
2	Marine Lines	मरीन लाईन्स	मरीन लाईन्स	-	None
3	Charni Road	चर्नी रोड	चर्नी रोड	-	None
4	Grant Road	ग्रँट रोड	ग्रँट रोड	-	None
5	Mumbai Central	मुंबई सेंट्रल	मुंबई सेंट्रल	BC	None
6	Mahalaxmi	महालक्ष्मी	महालक्ष्मी	-	None
7	Lower Parel	लोअर परेल	लोअर परळ	-	None
8	Elphinstone Road	एल्फिन्स्टन रोड	एल्फिन्स्टन रोड	-	None
9	Dadar	दादर	दादर	D	Central Line
10	Matunga Road	माटुंगा रोड	माटुंगा रोड	-	None
11	Mahim	माहिम	माहिम	-	Harbour Line
12	Bandra	बान्दरा	वांद्रे	B	Harbour Line
13	Khar Road	खार रोड	खार रोड	-	Harbour Line
14	Santacruz	सांताक्रुझ	सांताक्रुझ	-	Harbour Line
15	Vile Parle	विले पार्ले	विले पार्ले	-	Harbour Line
16	Andheri	अंधेरी	अंधेरी	A	Harbour Line
17	Jogeshwari	जोगेश्वरी	जोगेश्वरी	-	None
18	Goregaon	गोरेगाव	गोरेगाव	G	None
19	Malad	मालाड	मालाड	M	None
20	Kandivali	कांदिवली	कांदिवली	-	None
21	Borivali	बोरिवली	बोरिवली	BO	None
22	Dahisar	दहिसर	दहिसर	-	None
23	Mira Road	मीरा रोड	मीरा रोड	-	None
24	Bhayandar	भाईंदर	भाईंदर	BY	None
25	Naigaon	नायगांव	नायगांव	-	None
26	Vasai Road	वसई रोड	वसई रोड	BS	To Diva (Central Line)
27	Nala Sopara	नालासोपारा	नालासोपारा	-	None
28	Virar	विरार	विरार	V	None

Churchgate station is the Terminus station at the South End of Mumbai City. In Mumbai, Western Railway (WR) Suburban trains use this station as terminus. Long distance trains and goods trains do not use this station.

Above list of stations is mentioned from South end going towards North suburban areas falling on WR corridor. [[File:New Andheri Station East.jpg|thumb|Newly built Andheri Stat

MEMU Service

Western Line (MEMU)
Overview
Locale	Vasai-Virar, Maharashtra
Termini	Virar Dahanu Road
Stations	9
Service
System	Mumbai Suburban Railway
Services	Virar - Dahanu Road
Operator(s)	Western Railways
Technical
Line length	60 km (37 mi)
Character	At Grade
Track gauge	1676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Broad Gauge

Western Line (MEMU)
#	Station Name			Abbreviation	Connections
	English	Hindi	Marathi
1	Virar	विरार	विरार	V	None
2	Vaitarna	वैतारना	वैतरणा	-	None
3	Saphale	सफाले	सफाळे	-	None
4	Kelve Road	केल्वे रोड	केळवे रोड	-	None
5	Palghar	पालघर	पालघर	-	None
6	Umroli	उमरोली	उमरोळी	-	None
7	Boisar	बोईसर	बोईसर	-	None
8	Vangaon	वनगाँव	वाणगाव	-	None
9	Dahanu Road	दहानु रोड	डहाणू रोड	-	None

Western Railways in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed in Bombay High Court said that EMU services between Virar and Dahnu Road would start before March 31, 2013.

Electrification

Churchgate station, during rush hour.

Western Railway's EMU fleet consists of EMUs running on AC 25 kV power. WR uses seven 9-car rakes (100 services). Electrification was introduced on the Western Railway, which was then called the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway, on 5 January 1928. On the Western line, the first DC rake was run on January 5, 1928. The first electric local train had run between Mahalaxmi to Andheri. Then Governor of Bombay Leslie Orme Wilson had inaugurated the event. Wilson’s name was later given to the first electric locomotives introduced in Bombay.

The DC-AC conversion of Borivli-Virar section was completed in 2007, while the section between Borivli and Vile Parle has been converted into AC traction by November 13, 2011. On February 5, 2012, Western Railways finished converting the entire Western line from the earlier used 1,500V DC to 25 kV AC power. The entire power conversion project cost about ₹500 crore. Since 25,000V AC power is 17 times stronger than DC, anyone coming within two metres of the overhead wire will be charred to death.

The last ever DC local train ran as a special train from Bandra to Churchgate. It departed from Bandra at 12.30pm on 4 February 2012 and halted at all stations on its route. DC locals have served Mumbai 84 years.

With the conversion, WR will net carbon credits worth ₹2 crore a year because it utilizes rakes with regenerative braking features, that can help save up to 30% energy as the traction motor feeds some of the current back into the supply system. The project will also improve the punctuality of train services, make them energy-efficient and allow a greater number of 12-coach and 15-coach trains to ply. Long-distance trains entering Mumbai region can also run continuously on WR. Post-conversion, local trains will be able to achieve speeds of 100 km/h with ease. The next step would be to convert the remaining nine-coach trains to 12-coach ones, thus augmenting the carrying capacity by 33%.

Conversion will ensure that less maintenance is required, as the AC system needs lighter overhead wires, whereas, the thicker and heavier contact wires and pantographs in the DC network are prone to faster wear and tear. There will be less power loss, allowing the power generating station to be located away from the consumption point. The conversion will not only result in better efficiency but will also reduce pollution. Around 30 extra trains will be introduced and trains are expected to cross 120kmph after conversion.

Services

As of 27 March 2012, the Western Line has approximately 1,250 local services running which carry about 35.5 lakh commuters every day. Western Railways' EMUs are in 9 car, 12 car or 15 car formations. 15 car services were first introduced in 2009. They halt at all the stations between Borivli and Virar, except Naigaon, where the platform extension is in progress. Currently, 15-coach trains are running on Western Railway during non-peak hours.

No. of coaches	No. of Services
9	196
12	1,040
15	14
Total	1,250

Western Railway plans to convert its remaining 9-car services to 12-car services by May 2012.

Fatalities

In 2011, 1,313 commuters died in accidents on the Western Line. The biggest killer is trespassing. The railways have identified 10 locations where the problem has been chronic. Some of the locations are Dadar (south side), Jogeshwari, Nalasopara, Kandivli (a spot near the level-crossing), Khar (south and north) and Virar. Since mid-February 2012, they have deployed Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel in two shifts to stop commuters from crossing tracks. The two shifts are from 7am-11am and 5pm-10pm. The RPF say that a survey of cases recorded in 2011 showed that the accidents peaked in the mornings and evenings. Initially, the RPF personnel strung up banners for awareness and only cautioned offenders. Since then they have started booking commuters, particularly those who cross tracks between platforms.

Milestones on Western Line

• January 5, 1928 - First EMU train between Colaba & Borivali
• 1928 - First electric train between Colaba & Andheri
• 1936 : Borivli to Virar electrified. Steam engine withdrawn
• 1961 : Introduction of nine-car trains
• 1972 : Total number of services crossed the 500 mark
• 1986 : 12-car trains introduced
• 1992 : World's first ladies' special train and exclusive seats for senior citizens introduced
• 1993 : Compartment for physically handicapped introduced
• 2003 : Total number of services crosses 1,000 mark
• 2009 : 15-car train introduced
• February 5, 2012 : Complete conversion to AC traction

See also

• Western Railway Elevated Corridor
• Mumbai Suburban Railway
• List of Mumbai Suburban Railway stations
• Western Railways