MUMBAI: A plan to link the city’s suburban railway stations with the expanding metro network is beginning to take shape. The integration will let Mumbaikars switch seamlessly between suburban trains, metros, monorails, buses and even pod taxis, potentially cutting travel times, easing crowding, and improving daily travel comfort.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), in coordination with Indian Railways and other state agencies, has identified 34 metro stations — both operational and under construction — that will be integrated with 39 suburban railway stations on the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) corridors. The integration will also extend to the Monorail and the proposed pod taxi system at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).
A joint committee of officials from Indian Railways and state agencies has been formed to oversee this Multi Modal Integration (MMI) programme. The first meeting, to be held later this month at Central Railway’s headquarters at CSMT, will discuss station redesigns, passenger handling capacity, and lessons from poorly planned interchanges.
“Multimodal integration is the backbone of efficient public transportation. We have mapped out several metro stations for seamless connection with suburban rail, and are also working on links to large commercial spaces to improve last-mile connectivity,” said Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA.
Key integrations planned
The blueprint covers 14 stations on WR and 22 on CR, plus a new proposed suburban station near Thane. The BKC pod taxi system will link both Kurla West and Bandra East stations, while Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk Monorail station will connect to Mahalaxmi station on WR.
Railway officials say the focus will be on preventing congestion and bottlenecks. “We’ve seen the drawbacks of unplanned connectivity at Ghatkopar and Andheri, where queues for the Metro spill over onto railway foot overbridges. This time, we want advanced planning and adequate holding areas,” said a senior railway official.
Work is already underway at some locations — for example, Ghatkopar is adding two new concourses to improve interchange movement. Station upgrades will include larger elevated decks, wider footpaths, designated parking for buses and autos, better pedestrian crossings, improved signages, and smoother road junctions within a 500-metre radius of the stations.
A detailed passenger footfall study will be conducted to understand travel patterns, peak-hour loads, and the scale of interchange facilities needed. “Simply building a foot overbridge will not work anymore. The infrastructure must be designed for the volume we expect once two mass transit systems meet,” an official said.