Central line (Mumbai Suburban Railway)

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 Maharaj Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) to Kalyan Junction. The entire line is at grade. It has section of quadruple track starting from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and ends at Kasara, Roha, Uran and Khopoli in Maharashtra.

Central line
Overview
Owner	Indian Railway
Locale	Mumbai, Maharashtra Raigad, Maharashtra Thane, Maharashtra
Termini	Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (south) Kasara, Khopoli,
Stations	62
Service
System	Mumbai Suburban Railway
Operator(s)	Central Railway (CR)
Depot(s)	Kurla, Kalva, Matunga[1]
Rolling stock	Siemens, Bombardier
Daily ridership	3.9 million[2]
History
Opened	16 April 1853; 171 years ago (1853-04-16)
Technical
Line length	180 km (110 mi)
Character	At Grade
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Electrification	25,000 V AC 1500 V DC (until 8 June 2015)
Route map Legend to Bhusawal–Kalyan section Kasara Umbermali Khardi Thansit Atgaon Asangaon Vasind Bhatsa River Khadavli Kalu River Titwala Ambivli Ulhas River Shahad Waldhuni River Vithalwadi Kalyan Junction Ulhasnagar Thakurli Ambarnath Dombivli Badlapur to Ahmedabad-Mumbai main Line Vangani Western line Vasai Road Shelu Juchandra Neral Junction to Matheran Kaman Road Bhivpuri Road Kharbav Karjat Bhiwandi Road to Panvel Ulhas River Palasdari to Mumbai Dadar– Solapur section Kopar Kelavli Diva Junction Dolavli Dativali Lowjee Nilaje Khopoli Taloje Panchnand to Karjat Mumbra Navde Road Kalwa Kalamboli to Trans-Harbour line Panvel to Harbour line Thane Creek Somatne Thane Rasayani Trans-Harbour line Apta Mulund Jite Nahur Hamrapur Bhandup Pen Kanjur Marg Kasu Vikhroli Nagothane Line 1 to Versova Ghatkopar Nidi Vidyavihar Roha LTT to Konkan Railway Kurla Sion Harbour line Harbour line to Goregaon Western line to Dahanu Road Matunga Dadar planned Monorail Prabhadevi   Parel Western line to Churchgate Currey Road Chinchpokli Byculla Harbour line Sandhurst Road Masjid Line 3 Mumbai CSMT

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 CSMT to Kalyan Junction (55 km),^[3] 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 Siemens as well as Bombardier 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, Diva, 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:

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus - Kalyan - Kasara
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus - Kalyan - Karjat - Khopoli

Stations

Names in bold indicate that the station is a fast train stop as well as important terminal.

Main line

Inside Mumbai CSMT station

Central line (Main)
#	Distance from CST (km)	Station Name		Station Code	Connections
		English	Marathi
1	0	Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus	छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज टर्मिनस	ST / CSMT	Harbour line and Indian Railways
2	1	Masjid	मशीद	MSD	Harbour line
3	2	Sandhurst Road	सँडहर्स्ट रोड	SNRD	Harbour line
4	4	Byculla	भायखळा	BY	None
5	5	Chinchpokli	चिंचपोकळी	CHP	None
6	6.5	Currey Road	करी रोड	CRD	None
7	8	Parel	परळ	PR	Prabhadevi† (Western line)
8	9	Dadar	दादर	D/DR	Western line and Indian Railways
9	11	Matunga	माटुंगा	MTN	None
10	13	Sion	शीव	SIN	None
11	15	Kurla	कुर्ला	C/CLA	Harbour line
12	18	Vidyavihar	विद्याविहार	VVH	None
13	21	Ghatkopar	घाटकोपर	GC	Metro Line 1
14	23	Vikhroli	विक्रोळी	VK	None
15	25	Kanjur Marg	कांजुर मार्ग	KJRD	Metro Line 6
16	26	Bhandup	भांडुप	BND	None
17	28	Nahur	नाहूर	NHU	None
18	32	Mulund	मुलुंड	MLND	None
19	34	Thane	ठाणे	T/TNA	Trans-Harbour line and Indian Railways
20	36	Kalwa	कळवा	KLVA	None
21	40	Mumbra	मुंब्रा	MBQ	None
22	43	Diva Junction	दिवा जंक्शन	DIVA	Vasai Road–Roha line
23	47	Kopar	कोपर	KOPR	Vasai Road–Roha line
24	48	Dombivli	डोंबिवली	DI	None
25	50	Thakurli	ठाकुर्ली	THK	None
26	54	Kalyan Junction	कल्याण जंक्शन	K/KYN	to Kasara and Khopoli of (Central line) and Indian Railways

†A footbridge links Parel to Prabhadevi on the Western line.

Main Line Branches

The main line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway runs from CSMT to Kalyan. It then splits into two corridors one going to Khopoli and other to Kasara.

South-east Section

South-east Section
#	Station Name		Station Code	Connections
	English	Marathi
26	Kalyan Junction†	कल्याण जंक्शन	K/KYN	Central line (Main) and Indian Railways
27	Vithalwadi	विठ्ठलवाडी	VLDI	None
28	Ulhasnagar	उल्हासनगर	ULNR	None
29	Ambarnath	अंबरनाथ	A/ABH	None
30	Badlapur	बदलापूर	BL/BUD	None
31	Vangani	वांगणी	VGI	None
32	Shelu	शेलू	SHLU	None
33	Neral Junction	नेरळ जंक्शन	NRL	Matheran Hill Railway
34	Bhivpuri Road	भिवपुरी रोड	BVS	None
35	Karjat	कर्जत	S/KJT	None
36	Palasdari	पळसधरी	PDI	None
37	Kelavli	केळवली	KLY	None
38	Dolavli	डोळवली	DLV	None
39	Lowjee	लौजी	LWJ	None
40	Khopoli	खोपोली	KP/KHPL	None
† – Branch Line starts at Kalyan

North-east Section

North-east Section
#	Station Name		Station Code	Connections
	English	Marathi
26	Kalyan Junction†	कल्याण जंक्शन	K/KYN	Central line (Main) and Indian Railways
27	Shahad	शहाड	SHAD	None
28	Ambivli	आंबिवली	ABY	None
29	Titwala	टिटवाळा	TL / TWL	None
30	Khadavli	खडवली	KDV	None
31	Vasind	वाशिंद	VSD	None
32	Asangaon	आसनगाव	AN/ASO	None
33	Atgaon	आटगाव	ATG	None
34	Thansit	थानसीट	THS	None
35	Khardi	खर्डी	KE	None
36	Umbermali	उंबरमाळी	OMB	None
37	Kasara	कसारा	N/KSRA	None
† – Branch Line starts at Kalyan

Vasai Road–Diva–Panvel line

Main article: Vasai Road–Roha line

The Vasai Road–Diva–Panvel 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 Junction. MEMUs operate between Dahanu Road and Roha via a branch line from Diva.

Vasai Road–Roha line
#	Station Name		Station Code	Connections
	English	Marathi
1	Vasai Road	वसई रोड	BS/ BSR	Western line and Indian Railways
2	Juchandra	जुचंद्र	JCNR	None
3	Kaman Road	कामण रोड	KACR	None
4	Kharbav	खारबाव	KBV	None
5	Bhiwandi Road	भिवंडी रोड	BIRD	None
6	Kopar	कोपर	KOPR	Central line (Main)
7	Diva Junction	दिवा जंक्शन	DIVA	Central line (Main)
8	Dativali	दातिवली	DTVL	None
9	Nilaje	निळजे	NILJ	None
10	Taloje Panchnand	तळोजे पांचनंद	TJPD	Navi Mumbai Metro
11	Navde Road	नावडे रोड	NVRD	None
12	Kalamboli	कळंबोली	KLMC	None
13	Panvel	पनवेल	PL/ PNVL	Harbour line, Trans-Harbour line and Indian Railways

History

The first passenger train in India from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai to Thane ran on 16 April 1853 on the track laid by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. The GIPR line was extended to Kalyan in 1854 and then on the north-east side to Igatpuri and the south-east side to Khopoli via Palasdari railway station at the foot of the Western Ghats in 1856.

Electrification

Railway electrification in India began with the first electric train, between Bombay Victoria Terminus and Kurla by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) on 3 February 1925, on 1.5 kV DC. The Kalyan–Pune section was electrified with 1.5 kV DC overhead system in 1930.^[4]

The previously used 1.5 kV DC was converted to 25 kV AC on 5 May 2013 from Kalyan to Khopoli and Kalyan to Kasara.^[5] Conversion from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Thane-Kalyan section was completed on 12 January 2014.^[6] The CSMT to LTT section was converted from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on 8 June 2015.^[7][8]

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,^[9] in order to accommodate 15 coach trains. The total cost of the work was estimated at ₹37.5 million (US$450,000).^[10] The first 15-car service, on the Central line, departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Kalyan at 7:33 pm on 16 October 2012.^[11]

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.^[7]

See also

• Mumbai Suburban Railway
• List of Mumbai Suburban Railway stations
• Central Railway

References

1. TNN (2 August 2012). "Sanpada, Kurla sheds to clear rake service backlog". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
2. "Minor drop in deaths on tracks of Western Railways". The Times of India. 2 April 2012. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.
3. "Bonanza for Mumbai rail commuters". Business Standard. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
4. "Electric Traction I". History of Electrification. IRFCA. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
5. "From May 5, faster Central Railway with AC power". The Times of India. 30 April 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
6. "Soon, faster trains on Kalyan-LTT route". The Times of India. 13 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
7. "Central Railway plans DC/AC switch in May". The Times of India. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
8. "DC to AC conversion on Mumbai's Central Railways rail route completed". The Economic Times. Mumbai: PTI. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
9. "CR still in two minds over 15car trains". Mumbai Mirror. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
10. "15-car rakes: Central Railway invites bids for platform extension". The Times of India. 15 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012.
11. TNN (16 October 2012). "15-car Central Railway trains from today". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.