Mumbai’s suburban rail commuters are bearing the brunt of stalled infrastructure projects as a prolonged land dispute between Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) continues unresolved. Two critical projects — the long-delayed fifth and sixth rail lines and the upgrade of Dadar Terminus — remain locked in bureaucratic gridlock, delaying much-needed relief to millions of daily passengers.
For WR, the expansion of Dadar mid-town terminus has been on hold as the zone requires land at Currey Road, currently occupied by CR’s general stores depot. Without this land, WR cannot develop the required pit lines, maintenance facilities, and an additional platform line to handle rising suburban and long-distance demand. On the other hand, CR has been awaiting transfer of approximately 8,554 square metres of WR land at Dadar to advance its fifth and sixth line projects between Kurla and Parel — a corridor regarded as among the most congested in the country. Despite CR’s consent in 2017 to bear the relocation cost quoted by WR, the handover has not materialised even after repeated follow-ups.
Officials from both zones maintain that discussions are in progress, insisting there will be no “hindrance” to eventual timelines. Yet, the prolonged stalemate reflects structural inefficiencies in Indian Railways’ zonal framework. The split jurisdiction of CR and WR — two zones that operate with separate priorities, land holdings, and decision-making — has created overlapping dependencies that have now turned into bottlenecks. Transport experts argue that Mumbai’s case underscores the need for a unified suburban rail authority, similar to metro rail corporations, where planning, execution, and passenger services are centrally coordinated. A single suburban railway corporation for Mumbai, jointly managed by the state and the Centre, could eliminate bureaucratic overlaps and ensure faster decision-making.
Daily passengers, however, remain unconvinced by official assurances. Commuters highlight that the dual systems not only delay projects but also cause operational disconnects — from ticketing and scheduling to passenger information. Many argue that services remain fragmented, unlike the seamless operations offered by metro networks. While some advocate for merging CR and WR under a unified management, others warn that structural change must not lead to bloated bureaucracy. For the city’s 75 lakh-plus rail passengers, the priority remains punctuality, accountability, and expansion of services.
As Mumbai races towards becoming a global financial hub, transport experts caution that its suburban rail backbone cannot afford further inertia. Unless inter-zonal disputes are resolved and unified planning is introduced, commuters will continue to pay the price for institutional inefficiency.
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