India, Dec. 12 -- In a significant boost for suburban rail commuters, Western Railway (WR) has begun extending platforms on the Andheri-Bandra slow corridor to enable the operation of 15-car local trains, increasing capacity by an estimated 700-1,000 commuters per service.

Work has started at Khar station, while similar upgrades at Bandra, Santacruz and Vile Parle are expected to begin soon. WR aims to complete all extensions before the next monsoon.

According to WR officials, the project involves lengthening platforms and adjusting signalling poles, overhead equipment cables and track alignments. Currently, 15-car trains cannot operate on the Andheri-Bandra section due to inadequate platform lengths.

Once the upgrades are completed-li...