Western Railway achieved one more milestone by completing 150 Glorious Years of 1st Suburban Train in Mumbai

Western Railway achieved one more milestone by completing 150 Glorious Years of 1st Suburban Train in Mumbai

2017/04

12-04-2017

Mumbai

Western Railway achieved one more milestone by completing 150 Glorious Years of 1st Suburban Train in Mumbai

Clockwise : Suburban service being pulled by a Steam engine; Late 1920s, Rly lines from Colaba (T) going towards Churchgate stn;Churchgate stn bldg in Swiss Chalet style in 1860-70; View of bridge outside Dadar station

The Western Railway marching ahead towards a better future, with a glorious past & pulsating present, achieved o­ne more historical milestone o­n Wednesday 12thApril 2017 when the first suburban train service operated o­n the erstwhile Western line (former BB & CI Rly), completed 150 glorious years.

Shri Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer, Western Railway said that, the history of suburban local o­n Western Railway dates back to 1867 when the first local service was introduced between Virar and Backbay (near Marine Lines) o­n 12th April with o­ne train in each direction. The train which was run by a steam engine, left Virar, then called 'Viraur' at 6:45 am for BackBay and in the return direction the train departed from BackBay at 5:30 pm. The train halted at the following stations - Neela, Bassein, Panjo, Berewla, Phade, Andaru, Santacruz, Bandra, Mahim, Dadar, Grant Road. The BackBay station was located between the present Charni Road and Marine Lines stations. Due to the slow progress of the Back Bay Reclamation Work, there was delay in completing the task of the suburban line at the southern end of the city. The second class fare was then 9 pies a mile. They could also buy return ticket at 3/4 of the fare.  o­n 10th June, 1869 monthly and quarterly season tickets were introduced o­n the BB&CI Railway upto Bandra for Ist and IInd class commuters. The cost of monthly season ticket for Ist and IInd class commuters between Charni Road and Bandra was Rs. 14/- and Rs. 8/- respectively. 

Heralding a glorious past, since its humble beginning 150 years back, today Western Railway proudly runs 1323 suburban services from Churchgate to Dahanu Road, ferrying almost 3.4 million commuters daily.  Gradually evolving from 3 to 6 car coaches, 9 to 12 car and now finally with 15 car suburban rake, which is incidentally the longest suburban commuter rake in the world. As a salute to our women commuters, WR pioneered the first ever Ladies Special in the world.  Ushering in an era of digital technology, ATVMs, UTS & Disha App & security helplines, etc., WR is committed to make suburban travel comfortable & hassle-free.  With an eye o­n Safety, relentless efforts have been made to construct FOBs, subways, escalators, elevators at most suburban stations.  Cleanliness & hygiene along with security of all commuters especially women, have been accorded high priority. Not resting upon a great past & laurels, W. Rly understands that it has promises to keep & o­nce again reiterates its endeavour to tread a journey full of challenges which started 150 years back towards a bright & promising future. 

Source:WR