The Central Railway (CR) has ferried over 48,000 more passengers daily on its suburban network between April and July 2018 against the corresponding period in 2017. Nearly 48.89 crore passengers had used the CR in 2017, as opposed to 49.27 crore in 2018.
Railway officials said one of the reasons behind an increase of about 59 lakh in the four months is the Harbour Line extension from Andheri to Goregaon on April 1.
The CR operates 42 services daily between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Goregaon, Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, said.
According to officials, the data indicates that commuters working in areas around the CSMT and Masjid railway station, who would otherwise catch trains on the Western Line, might now be using the Harbour Line locals to Goregaon. The extension to Goregaon was built by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation as part of the second phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project.
Mr. Udasi said the passenger count will further go up once the new line to Uran is operational. “We hope to serve more passengers once we commission the line to Kharkopar,” he said.
The new line between Seawoods and Uran is being jointly built by the CR and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).
The CIDCO is currently building three stations in the first phase till Kharkopar. The line will provide connectivity to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport.
