Central Railway has increased the speed of trains running between Tilak Nagar and Panvel, a decision aimed at saving passengers' time and improving punctuality. Implemented on Tuesday following a notification issued on June 3, this change has increased train speeds from 80 km/h to 95 km/h on this section of the Harbour Line. This adjustment has reduced the travel time between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Panvel by five minutes, making the journey quicker. Previously, local trains were running at 80 km/h on this route, taking 80 minutes (one hour and 20 minutes) to cover the distance from CSMT to Panvel. The increased speed will save time for passengers.
Central Railway operates 188 services between CSMT and Panvel and 79 services between CSMT and Belapur. Typically, the journey from CSMT to Panvel takes 80 minutes, while the journey to Belapur takes 65 minutes. The Harbour Line has two tracks, up and down, for slow trains, leading to heavy passenger congestion at every station on this route. While there was a demand to increase the speed of local trains to 105 km/h to save more time, the railway administration approved increasing the speed only to 95 km/h for safety reasons. This change will only apply to the 32.53 km section between Tilak Nagar and Panvel.
The distance between each station from CSMT to Tilak Nagar ranges from 1 to 2 km, requiring local trains to stop at each station and adjust their speed accordingly. After Tilak Nagar, the distance between stations increases, allowing for the increased speed. Several passengers have suggested that installing a fence along the railway tracks between Kurla and Mankhurd could allow for an increase in train speeds. Currently, it takes 33 minutes for trains on the Harbour Line to travel between Kurla and CSMT, compared to 30 minutes on the Central Railway for the same distance. Passengers believe that more trains need to be operated by Central Railway to Panvel to further improve travel efficiency.