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 and Khopoli in Maharashtra.

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 the Central Railway run from CSMT to Kalyan Junction (55 km),^[3] from where it bifurcates into two lines – one to Kasara (67 km) in the northeast and the other to Khopoli (61 km) in the southeast. These two corridors constitute the 'Main' Line. The Central main line shares one station with the Western main line at Dadar. They consist of a fleet of Siemens, Medha as well as Bombardier EMUs.

The major car sheds on this line are at Kurla and Kalwa. 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.

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

† A footbridge links Parel to Prabhadevi on the Western line. * A footbridge links Matunga to Matunga Road on the Western line, called Matunga Z bridge.

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.

The first passenger train in India from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Bori Bunder railway station) 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.

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 conversion from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC was done in stages. The Igatpuri-Kasara section was converted from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on 19 February 2006, followed by Kasara-Khadavli section on August 2007, and Khadavli-Kalyan section on 3 May 2009. The Lonavala/Khopoli-Badlapur section was converted from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on 2 May 2010, followed by Badlapur-Kalyan section on 24 October 2010.^[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 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus section was converted from 1.5 kV DC to 25 kV AC on 8 June 2015.^[7][8]

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$440,000).^[10] The first 15-car service, on the Central line, departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Kalyan at 7:33 pm IST 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]

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