Double halts may return to haunt Mumbai railway commuters

With the railways gearing up to run 15-car trains, touted to be world’s longest, on the suburban network, double halts at stations could return to haunt the city’s rail commuters.

A double halt is a train stopping twice at the station due to platforms falling short for longer trains. When the 12-car trains were first introduced 20 years ago, the railways had taken time to upgrade the infrastructure and trains used to stop twice at certain stations. In fact, trains used to stop twice at Masjid Bunder even a year ago.

While the Western Railway is running a 15-car train and plans to extend it to Churchgate by January, the Central Railway has asked the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation to conduct a study for running 15-car trains.

WR officials said they were upgrading the system and that they would stop the train only at those stations where infrastructure was adequate.

CR officials said that they would run 15-car train only after they complete converting 9-cars to 12-cars and after they improve the infrastructure.

“The 15-car train that will run from Churchgate will stop at select stations and there is enough space to increase the length of platforms of these stations,” an official said. He said that double halts for a train almost doubled the stoppage timings, affecting the entire schedule.

Commuters are enthusiastic though. “I do not think the railways should introduce such long trains before upgrading the infrastructure,” Yogesh Joshi, who travels daily on the western line, said.