Mumbai 1: Single card for all public transport in a month

These two features, among many other infrastructure upgrades, were announced at a media meet addressed by Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday. Here’s what commuters can expect:

Mumbai 1 card

In a major step towards make commuting in Mumbai seamless, Fadnavis said the state government will soon introduce a single card for public transportation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Called ‘Mumbai 1’, the card will facilitate travel and allow commuters to book tickets on the Mumbai metro, monorail, suburban local trains and public buses. Integrating the two suburban railways into the system is a big step.

The card, which allows tickets to be booked via a software application, is already in use on Metro rail lines 1, 2A and 7. The state government and railway ministry are in the final stages of upgrading it to include other modes of public transport. It will be introduced on a month, according to Fadnavis.

The Mumbai 1 card is a co-branded, prepaid card issued by the State Bank of India and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. It is designed for contactless payments and allows users to ‘tap and go’ with a stored value that can be used across metro stations and bus routes.

“The card will allow a passenger to book one single ticket from point A to B, for which they can opt for multiple modes of public transport. This eliminates the need to wait at ticket counters, multiple times, during the journey,” explained a railway official.

Air-conditioned trains

Vaishnaw said the Western and Central railways will together receive 238 air-conditioned (AC) local trains, which will gradually replace non-AC trains, as and when the latter are phased out. Mumbai was to get these AC trains in two phases – 47 under MUTP-3 and 191 under MUTP-3A. They have now been clubbed, he said.

“The design of these upgraded trains is almost ready and various sanctions are underway, after which manufacturing will begin. These trains will be designed to accommodate a super-dense crush load, better ventilation and air flow, more comfortable travel, and safer travel,” said Vaishnaw.

The present fleet of trains in both the Central and Western railways is close to 250 – both AC and non-AC. Sources said the 238 new AC trains will arrive in batches and be pressed into service as and when existing trains are phased out at the end of their life cycle, which his 25-30 years. There is no clarity on whether AC trains will eventually replace the entire fleet of non-AC trains.

Rail tech upgrade

Vaishnaw said the railway ministry is designing an advanced version of Kavach 5.0 for Mumbai, and it will be ready by December. Kavach is an indigenously developed safety mechanism to prevent train collisions and derailments.

“At present, the headway between two trains is 180 seconds. This can be reduced with the help of CBTC (Kavach),” said the minister. It should reduce the gap between two consecutive suburban rail services by 25-30%.”

The project is expected to be implemented on the Western Railway between Churchgate and Virar, and on the Central Railway between CSMT and Kalyan/Panvel on the Main and Harbour Lines.

Impetus on rail infra

The Central and Western railways are augmenting their respective networks in Mumbai by adding new rail lines, creating new corridors, and even revamping the look and feel of their railway stations – all this at a cost of ₹17,000 crore, Vaishnaw said.

Some of these projects, such as the 5th and 6th lines on the CSMT-Kurla section, and the 6th line on the Mumbai Central-Borivali section, have stalled doe to challenges in land acquisition and rehabilitation of PAPs. Other stalled projects include the Airoli-Kalwa Elevated rail line and the extension of the Harbour Line on the Goregaon-Borivali stretch.

Projects that are progressing steadily include the construction of a new suburban rail corridor on the Panvel-Karjat section, and adding two rail lines on the Kalyan-Badlapur/Asangaon section, and even towards Karjat and Kasara.

Work on station redevelopment is also underway – 132 stations across Maharashtra, including 38 in Mumbai, are being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

“Projects worth nearly ₹17,000 crore, covering more than 300 km of new lines, are underway. These initiatives aim to decongest existing lines, improve service frequency, and cater to the ever-growing demand of Mumbai’s suburban commuters,” said Vaishnaw.