A Comparison of Mumbai Suburban Local viz a viz International Metro Rapid Rail Transit System.

U-Bahn Metro, Germany Mumbai Suburban Railway

See the similarities? Then, what are the differences? Want to know, Please read further ..
1. Some brief facts about Mumbai City, its People & the Local Trains. 2. Comparison of Mumbai Local & International Metro Rapid Rail Transit System: 2.1 Similarities. 2.2 A Major Difference. 2.3 Some Other Differences. 3. Conclusion. 1. Some brief facts about Mumbai City, its People & the Local Trains. Mumbai City: Mumbai is a beautiful city comprising of seven islands. Over a span of five centuries, these seven islands have been gradually physically united through land reclamation projects - to form the area of the present day modern city of Mumbai. Mumbai is ranked as a number one city of India, the fourth biggest city in the world and it is the entertainment and the financial capital of India.

 Mumbai's People: Every city is made up of human beings who live in it, and this beautiful city of Mumbai is house to 1.84 crore (18.4 million) Mumbaikars, comprising of Marathis, Gujaratis, Konkanis, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Parsis, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, making Mumbai truly a melting pot of a wide variety of cultures.

Mumbai's Local: May I request you to please leave reading this page for the moment & check out by typing the keyword "People of Mumbai" in the Google search engine, and see the first few image reflection of Mumbai... hmmm...? Saw the Google result............? Well... that is the reflection of Mumbai city on Google ... People hanging on to the edges of doors & windows of overcrowded trains... Now you know what Mumbai Local Trains mean to the city! Yes, nearly 7,000,000 (7 million) Mumbaikars use Local Trains daily for commuting within the city. It is the most important mode of transport within the city, it is the lifeline of Mumbai, and in fact there must be hardly anyone in this financial capital of India, who has not had to use Local Trains for commuting within the city, at some point in time or other.

2. Comparison of Mumbai Local & a Latest International Metro Rapid Rail Transit System: So how does this lifeline of Mumbai, the financial capital of India compare to & differ from any latest International Metro across the World? 2.1 SIMILARITIES: We all know, that in last one century there has been a huge technological advancement, and as a result things have undergone a revolutionary sea change, but having said that, you will be surprised to know that the fundamental technology and the basic infrastructure on which a railway mode of transport is implemented across the world remains just the same.

Yes, you have read it right, the key technology and the basic infrastructure, on which a railway operates, remains just the same across the world! Just have a look at the following comparison table: Any Latest International Metro Rapid Rail Transit System 1. Tracks: Two Parallel Steel Rails (Tracks) Sleepers: 2. Tied together with Timber (Wood) or Concrete known as Sleepers. Small Stone Pieces: Crushed stone pieces spread between & 3. besides tracks, mainly to keep down vegetation that might interfere with tracks, etc. 4. Power: Draws power from overhead wires. Trains: 5. Trains running on metal wheels. (known as Rolling Stock) 6. Maximum Speed: 80 to 100 km per hour. Dicto. Dicto. Dicto. Dicto. Dicto.

Mumbai Suburban Local

Dicto.

6.1. International Metro Railways running only at 80 to 100 km per hour? That is because in any Metro City across the world, the typical distance between two stations within the city is around 1 to 2 km. and the practical maximum speed that can be achieved in such a short distance is 80 /100 km ph, Please note that trains running at 300 / 600 km ph are suitable for inter city traveling & not intra city traveling. Example of: Inter city Mumbai Delhi (between two States). Intra city Churchgate Virar (within the Mumbai city).

2.2

A MAJOR DIFFERENCE:

As evident from the above comparison table, the Mumbai Suburban Local has the complete fundamental infrastructure in place which is equivalent to any latest Metro Rapid Rail Transit System across the world! But then if you have traveled in a Mumbai Local, have you ever wondered why trains do not run at consistent speed between two stations? Why trains more often than not, slow down or stop between two stations? Whereas, internationally it is a standard that once a train starts from a particular station, it runs at a consistent speed and stops only at the next station! Why is that so? Because there is one area where Mumbai Suburban Railway has not updated itself, One single most area where technology has made a significant advancement and a huge contribution in the way a modern International Metro Rapid Rail Transit System functions, One area where technology has gone from traditional wired method to wireless method of communication (similar to advancement in telephones from wired landlines to wireless mobile phones & wired networking to Wi-Fi networking), One area where technology can help utilize the huge existing Mumbai Suburban Railway infrastructure and system provisions in the best possible & the most optimal way, One area where technological advancement can increase the passenger carrying capacity by almost 50%, which is equivalent to adding two elevated tracks not only to Churchgate Virar Corridor (as proposed recently) but also to the railway corridors of CSTM Kalyan, Kalyan Kasara, Kalyan Karjat, CSTM Vashi & Vashi Panvel i.e. virtually add two tracks to the entire network of Mumbai Suburban Railway comprising of Western, Central & Harbor Lines. An area where the cost of incorporating this huge technological advancement for the benefit of millions of Mumbaikars, is merely around 5 to 10% of the cost of laying down a new Metro Rapid Rail Transit System! A technological advancement which can be implemented in a very short turnaround time of just 3 to 4 yrs years for the entire Mumbai Suburban Railway, depending upon the terms of reference given to the implementing agency. And this fundamental technological difference is?

Latest International Metro Rapid Rail Transit System Radio Transmission based Automatic Train Control (ATC) Signaling. (latest wireless communication)

Mumbai Suburban Local Colour Light based Signaling system besides the Railway Tracks, (Red, Yellow, Green). (traditional wired communication)

Following are Some of the Many Advantages of the above mentioned ATC Signaling system Frequency of Trains: 1.5 minutes. Train Time Table Accuracy: Within 10 seconds. No Bunching up of Trains: Frequency of Trains: Approx. 3 min. Such accuracy is not possible. Trains can get bunched:

Advanced TMS system gives a global picture Results in unequal distribution of of all the trains on a particular route which passengers and subsequent reduction can avoid bunching of trains. (For Example: It can have centralized information on the exact location of each & every train on the tracks between Churchgate & Virar, and hence can analyze a global picture and thereby space all of the trains at equal intervals by sending each train a centralized signal command, to avoid bunching some and distancing some others) Modernized Radio Transmission based ATC Signaling System, is a standard in any International Rapid Rail Transit System, whereas Mumbai Suburban Railway is still following Colour Aspect based Signaling System. This is one of the major factors affecting the performance of Mumbai Suburban Locals, up-gradation of which can streamline its functioning, space all the trains equally on a given route, achieve +/- 10 seconds time table adherence accuracy, increase the frequency of trains, and thus dramatically improve the quality of travel as well as increase the passenger carrying capacity by almost 150% of the existing capacity. of passenger throughput.

Interestingly the cost of up-grading the present Colour light aspect based signaling system to the latest international standards is just 5% of the cost of installing an entirely new Metro Rapid Rail Transit System! Please do note that for ATC system to be introduced and be successful, some tweaks are required to be made to the existing infrastructure of Mumbai Suburban Local, such as, upgrading the existing turnouts/crossovers, 25m overlap at terminals to allow the best train service braking profile be used, a closed railway corridor free from both human as well as motor vehicle trespass, etc. 2.3 SOME OTHER DIFFERENCES: As discussed above, once ATC system is introduced, the performance & efficiency of Mumbai Suburban Locals will be updated at par with any Metro Rapid Rail Transit System across the world. The following picturesque differences will remain though: Air-Conditioned Modern Trains (Rolling Stock). Escalators & Elevators in place of Manual Climbing Bridges. .. 3. Conclusion: Up-gradation of Mumbai Suburban Railway to ATC based Signaling System will increase the passenger carrying capacity by almost 50%, which is equivalent to adding two elevated tracks not only to Churchgate Virar Corridor (as proposed recently) but also to the railway corridors of CSTM Kalyan, Kalyan Kasara, Kalyan Karjat, CSTM Vashi & Vashi Panvel i.e. virtually add two tracks to the entire network of Mumbai Suburban Railway comprising of Western, Central & Harbor Lines. It will also dramatically improve the overall efficiency & performance and bring it at par with the latest Metro Rapid Rail Transit System across the World. Sunil Ahya sunilahya@gmail.com 98200 71606. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and are based on an analysis of a detailed 175 page study report carried out by the MTR Corporation Hong Kong of the entire Mumbai Suburban Railway in the year 2005, a copy of which was obtained under the Right to Information Act. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of any Government entity. Following is the link to the MTR Corp. Hong Kongs Study Report: http://tinyurl.com/Mumbai-Suburb-Rail-StudyReport