RRB Practice 22

Suburban rail systems form the circulatory backbone of India's largest metropolitan areas, carrying millions of passengers daily over short to medium distances within the urban agglomeration and connecting outlying residential areas with commercial and employment centres in the inner city. The Mumbai Suburban Railway is the busiest suburban rail system in India and one of the most densely used in the world, with three lines — the Central Railway suburban network, the Western Railway suburban network, and the Harbour Line — collectively carrying an estimated seven to eight million passengers on a typical working day. The characteristic feature of Mumbai's suburban system is its extreme passenger density during peak hours, with trains running at headways of under three minutes during morning and evening rush periods and coaches carrying several times their designed seating capacity as standing passengers fill every available space. The Western Railway suburban network runs from Churchgate in South Mumbai to Dahanu Road in Palghar district, covering approximately 123 kilometres and serving the dense residential and commercial areas along the western sea-face of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The Central Railway suburban network originates from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in South Mumbai and extends to Karjat and Kasara in the eastern direction, serving the densely populated eastern and central suburbs and satellite towns. The suburban railway is operated using electric multiple unit trains, which offer high acceleration and deceleration rates suitable for the frequent stopping pattern of suburban services, and are powered from the 1500 volt direct current overhead system that is unique to Mumbai suburban railways among Indian railways. Chennai's suburban rail network, operated by Southern Railway, connects Chennai Beach and Chennai Egmore with suburban destinations including Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Gummidipoondi, and Arakkonam, providing an important public transport option in a city that has historically underinvested in mass transit infrastructure. The Kolkata Circular Railway and the main suburban network of Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway serve the densely populated northern and southern suburbs of Kolkata, though the metro has progressively absorbed some of the demand that suburban rail once served exclusively. The introduction of the 12-coach and 15-coach rakes on Mumbai suburban networks has increased capacity on the most congested corridors. The Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation of Maharashtra and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority are investing in capacity enhancement projects including new lines, fifth and sixth additional lines on congested corridors, and the integration of suburban rail with the Metro network through common interchange stations. The economic and social importance of suburban rail to the functioning of India's largest cities makes investment in capacity, reliability, and passenger amenity on these networks a priority for both state and central governments.