Stations 62 Opened 16 April 1853 | Daily ridership 2.9 million Operator(s) Central Railway (CR) | |
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The Central Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway is a public transit system serving Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It consists of 24 stations from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (C.S.T.) to Kalyan Junction. The entire line is at grade. It has section of quadruple track starting from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and ends at Kasara, Roha, Lonavala and Khopoli junctions in Maharashtra
Contents
- Routes
- Stations
- Main Line
- Main Line Branches
- Vasai Road Diva Panvel Roha Line
- NerulCBD Belapur Uran Line
- Electrification
- Services
- References
The Central Line in Mumbai consists of three major corridors, which bifurcate as they run into suburban satellite towns. Two corridors (one local and other through) on Central Railway run from CST to Kalyan Junction (55 km), from where it bifurcates into two lines — one running up to Kasara (67 km) in the north-east and the other running up to Khopoli (61 km) in the south-east. These two corridors constitute the 'Main' Line. The Central main line shares one station with the Western line at Dadar. They consist of a fleet of DC as well as dual-powered EMUs. The major car sheds on this line are at Kurla and Kalva. There are fast and slow locals here for suburban service. Slow locals halt at every station, while fast locals halts vary between Byculla, Dadar, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup, Mulund, Thane, Dombivli and Kalyan Junction. All services plying beyond this junction run slow. Trains usually start from and terminate at important stations.
Routes
The Central Line consists of the following routes:
Stations
(Names in bold indicate that the station is a fast train stop as well as important terminal.) Proposed Railway Stations on Central Lines are: 1.Between Thane and Mulund Station - Kopri. 2. Between Kalwa and Mumbra - Parsik Nagar 3. Between Ambernath and Badlapur- Chikhloli
Main Line
†A footbridge links Parel to Elphinstone Road on the Western Line.
Main Line Branches
The main line of the Mumbai Suburban Railways runs from CST to Kalyan. It then splits into two corridors one going to Khopoli and the other to Kasara.
Vasai Road-Diva-Panvel-Roha Line
The Vasai Road-Diva-Panvel-Roha Line connects the Western Line station of Vasai Road with the Harbour Line station of Panvel. It intersects the main line of the Central Line at Diva. MEMUs operate between Dahanu Road and Panvel/Roha via a branch line from Vasai Road.
Nerul/CBD Belapur – Uran Line
The Nerul/CBD Belapur – Uran Rail track of 27 km is currently under construction. The line is being constructed by CIDCO at a cost of ₹14.12 billion. It is expected to be operational by 2015.
The proposed railway stations are as follows:
Electrification
CR converted the Central Line from the previously used 1500V DC electrification to 25,000V AC on 5 May 2013 from Kalyan to Khopoli and Kalyan to Kasara. Electrification on the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Thane-Kalyan section was completed on 12 January 2014. The entire route between CST to Thane was converted from 1500V DC electrification to 25,000V AC on 8th June 2015; thus completing the entire Central Line search.
The conversion was expected to reduce maintenance-related failures The AC electrification system needs lighter overhead wires than that of DC, which has thicker and heavier contact wires and pantographs that are prone to fast wear and tear. The railway is estimated to save around ₹120 crore annually from reduced transmission loss and regenerative braking, and conserve 33% energy as a result of the conversion.
Services
Since November 2011, all services on the Central Line have been running on 12 cars. In preparation for introducing 15 car services, CR extended platforms at Byculla, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Mulund and Dombivli stations, from the current 270 metres to 330 metres, in order to accommodate 15 coach trains. The total cost of the work was estimated at ₹37.5 million (US$560,000). The first 15-car service, on the Central Line, departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Kalyan at 7:33 pm on 16 October 2012.
As of March 2014, 75 rakes operate 825 services on the Central Line daily, of which 809 are 12-car and 16 are 15-car services.