Mumbai commuters want more services to Delhi, Bangalore

Commuters and railway officials alike want train capacities increased and new services added on busy routes like Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Bangalore.
“Platforms at Mumbai Central are being extended to accommodate 24-coach trains,” said a railway official. “The authorities should increase the number of coaches in Rajdhani and August Kranti Rajdhani since the demand for these trains is year-round.It will increase the railways’ revenues.”
Another railway official suggested, “Mumbai-Bangalore air traffic is second only to Mumbai-Delhi. No efforts, though, have been made by the railways to tap into this route by increasing train services. Another thing that can be done is to extend the Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Pune high-speed corridor to Bangalore since it will drastically cut travel time.”
Borivli resident Kailesh Rane said, “Railways should consider introducing services from Bandra Terminus (BDTS) to Mangalore and Konkan since travellers find it difficult travelling to CST or Kurla to board trains plying on Konkan railway road.”
Shailesh Goyal, a former member of the National Railway Users’ Consultative Council, said, “Duronto trains should be introduced on the Mumbai-Gandhidham and Mumbai-Varanasi routes, and the frequency of Mumbai-Allahabad and BDTS-Udaipur-Ajmer services should be increased.”
Referring to a Garib Rath train that leaves for Delhi from BDTS at 4.40pm, an official said, “The timetable should be changed to replace it with a Rajdhani-type train, which can then be made to halt at Andheri or Borivli. The timing of 4.40pm is ideal for Rajdhani-type services since the travel time between the two cities is 16 hours.” There were suggestions to introduce Garib Rath trains to cities like Jodhpur, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai.
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