Mumbai, 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-likely by March-15-car services will be scheduled from Virar to Bandra, a key station with a daily footfall of 400,000-500,000 commuters. WR currently operates 211 fifteen-car services between Churchgate and Virar, but only 112 run on the slow corridor and terminate at Andheri. Once the platform is operational, all 12-car locals between Bandra and Andheri will be converted to 15-car trains. The expansion is expected to increase overall carrying capacity by 75,000-100,000 commuters per day. A 15-car rake carries 4,380 passengers, compared to 3,504 in a 12-car train. "Peak-hour crowding will reduce considerably. Improved train availability and longer rakes will help distribute commuter load more evenly," said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Sangh....