MUMBAI: Central Railway is set to expand its 15-car local train operations from Independence Day, upgrading 22 additional 12-car services on the main line and taking the total number of 15-car services to 54. The longer trains will operate from August 15 on the CSMT-Karjat/Khopoli South East line, benefiting commuters travelling to and from Ambarnath, Badlapur, Karjat and Khopoli.The addition of three coaches to each of the 22 services will increase the passenger-carrying capacity of every upgraded service by 25%, according to Central Railway. The railway has included services during the morning and evening peak periods as part of the latest expansion.Among the down services being upgraded are the Dadar-Khopoli local departing at 7.43am, CSMT-Karjat services at 9.57am and 2.45pm, three Karjat-Khopoli services between 10.40am and 1.15pm, a CSMT-Badlapur local at 4.42pm, and CSMT-Ambarnath and CSMT-Karjat services departing at 7.42pm and 7.50pm, respectively. Two late-night services — CSMT-Khopoli at 10.57pm and CSMT-Ambarnath at 12.05am — will also be upgraded, with both being converted from slow to fast services.In the up direction, the upgraded services include the Khopoli-Dadar local at 4.50am, Ambarnath-CSMT at 8.27am, Khopoli-Karjat at 10am, 11.20am and 12.40pm, Karjat-CSMT at 12.23pm, 5.33pm and 10.03pm, Khopoli-CSMT at 1.48pm, Badlapur-CSMT at 6.17pm and Ambarnath-Dadar at 9.07pm.Central Railway said the latest upgrade includes two morning peak services — the Ambarnath-CSMT local departing at 8.27am and Khopoli-Karjat at 10am — and two evening peak services — the CSMT-Ambarnath at 7.42pm and CSMT-Karjat at 7.50pm.The expansion will also bring operational changes. The KP2 Khopoli-Parel local will now run as a Khopoli-Dadar service, departing at 4.50am, while the KP3 Parel-Khopoli local will become a Dadar-Khopoli service, departing at 7.43am. The A59 CSMT-Ambarnath service will become a Dadar-Ambarnath 15-car local, departing Dadar at 11.23pm. The latter will remain cancelled on Saturdays for maintenance.Central Railway first introduced 15-car locals in 2012 with 16 services. Six more were added in 2019, taking the total to 22. Ten additional services were upgraded in July 2026, taking the number to 32. The latest 22 will push the figure to 54, while the overall number of suburban services will remain unchanged at 1,820.
