Mumbai, Nov. 24 -- Nearly 3.5 million daily commuters on the Central Railway (CR) suburban network can look forward to more comfortable journeys by the middle of next year when a clutch of 15-coach trains are pressed into service and work on extending platforms at 34 stations is completed, railway officials told Hindustan Times. The CR presently has only two 15-coach rakes which are used to operate 22 daily services while the remaining services are operated using 12-coach rakes. The 15-coach rakes require longer platforms which are available only on the fast corridor, at 10 stations - Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Byculla, Dadar, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Mulund, Thane, Dombivli and Kalyan. On Saturday, tenders were floated for augmenting the capacity of 20 rakes of 12 coaches each by adding three coaches, railway officials said. On average, 15-coach rakes can accommodate 1,200 more passengers than 12-coach rakes. "The plan to convert 12-car trains into 15-car ones was pending for quite some time, but was expedited after the accident in Mumbra," a senior railway official told HT. Five passengers had died in Mumbra on June 9 after they fell off from two local trains that were crossing each other at a bend along the tracks. Railway officials said it would take about a year to convert all 20 twelve-coach trains into 15-coach ones once the tender is awarded work commences. When all 20 trains are converted, CR will be able to ferry around 300,000 additional commuters per day, the officials said. "Adding three coaches to a train is not a simple mechanical exercise," a railway official explained. "Our engineers will have to rearrange coaches, extend brake pipes, synchronise electrical systems, and overhaul train circuitry to align with the longer formation." Platforms at 34 stations on the CR suburban network are currently being extended to accommodate longer trains, officials said. These include all stations on the fast corridor between CSMT and Kalyan, all stations on the slow corridor between Thane and Kalyan and all stations on the Kalyan-Kasara and Kalyan-Khopoli routes. "Seven stations will be ready to accommodate 15-car trains on both slow and fast lines by March 2026. Work on the remaining 27 stations is moving at a slower pace and is expected to be completed by the middle of next year," the official quoted earlier said. The seven stations which are likely to get longer platforms by March next year are CSMT, Thane, Diva, Dombivali, Kalyan, Vangani and Khadavli, the official added. At Diva, a road over bridge must be built in place of the level crossing beside the station before the platforms can be extended. "Unless the ROB is ready, the level crossing gate cannot be closed and the platforms cannot be extended till that point," an official said. The downside of running longer, 15-coach trains is that they take 60-90 more seconds than 12-coach trains to switch lines at track crossings, officials said. "Train operations will have to be rationalised accordingly to minimize delays and maintain punctuality," an official said. Railway passenger associations said operationalisation of longer trains and platforms would provide much relief to commuters who grapple daily with crowded stations and jam-packed compartments. "The addition of coaches would mean faster clearance of people from crowded platforms. It would also reduce crowding inside trains," said Siddesh Desai from the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh....