The Mumbai Suburban Railway (colloquially called local trains or simply locals)[2] consists of exclusive inner suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines serving outlying suburbs to serve the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Spread over 450 kilometres (280 mi),[3] the suburban railway operates 2,342 train services and carries more than 7.5 million commuters daily.

[4][5] By annual ridership (2.64 billion), the Mumbai Suburban Railway is one of the busiest commuter rail systems in the world.

[12] The suburban services are run by electric multiple units (EMUs) in 191 rakes (train sets) of 12-car and 15-car composition.

The Indian Railways plans to build a 700 MW gas-based plant in Thakurli to generate electricity to run the Mumbai trains.

The coaches are built of stainless steel, and have non-cushioned seats, emergency fluorescent lights, bigger windows with polycarbonate panes, better suspension systems, roof-mounted forced ventilation to reduce carbon dioxide levels in packed trains,[15] and GPS based passenger information systems in all coaches.

[19][20] The first air-conditioned rake for use on the suburban system was built by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai–BHEL EMU at a cost of over ₹50 crore (US$5.8 million), and arrived in Mumbai on 5 April 2016.

The train is also equipped with a new electrical system and software, automatic doors with emergency opening features, and GPS-based destination display on LED indicators.

The old system of pulling a chain to halt the train was replaced by four intercoms per coach that enable commuters to communicate with the driver.

[22] Then Central Railway general manager Sunil Kumar Sood insisted that CR was conduct trials and operate the rake on the Harbour Line.

After acquiring the rake, CR conducted tests, safety, and mobility checks, and trial runs under the supervision of the RDSO.

The first AC local train in Mumbai began operation in December 2017 and crossed the 10 lakh passenger mark within the first five months.

The fourth air-conditioned rake on Mumbai Suburban Rail Network & first for Central Railway has been commissioned on Trans-harbour line from Thane to Panvel / Vashi from 30 January 2020.

[26] After a gap of 3 years, the first 12-coach fully-vestibuled AC Local Train made by Medha was commissioned on Western Railway on 19 December 2022.

The Central Line in Mumbai consists of three major corridors, which bifurcate as they run into suburban satellite towns.

There is also a 36 km (22 mi) corridor between Kurla and Kalyan Junction stations for exclusive use by outstation and cargo trains.

[27] The Harbour Line is part of the Central Railway, and runs from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Goregaon and Panvel.

The line operates from two separate platforms at CSMT and the tracks cross over the mainline at Sandhurst Road to head towards stations along Mumbai's Eastern dock area.

Freight trains share the tracks through a bypass from Airoli to Kopar Khairane, after which it goes to a siding in Turbhe for the APMC market godowns.

In 2016, the Indian Railways manufactured its first AC local train for providing better journeys in the hot and humid summer season.

AC trains include fast and slow locals and started their run from 25 December 2016 on WR and 30 January 2020 on CR.

Alternatively, the user may book tickets directly using credit/debit cards, net banking, IMPS, UPI, or various digital wallets such as PayTM, MobiKwik etc.

Leaving the doors open also allows for a fast boarding process and turnaround time, as the trains stop for only 10 seconds, and are at most 5 minutes apart, to combat overcrowding.

Passengers often end up hanging off the edge of the footboard, off door ledges, and during rush hour can lose balance and fall to their death.

However, passengers frequently spit paan, mava and gutka while hanging off doors, which ends up entering through the open window grilles.

Some passengers die when they sit on train roofs to avoid the crowds and are electrocuted by overhead electric cables, or fall while hanging from doors and window bars.

[52] Central Railways in association with a behaviour architecture firm deployed psychology-based interventions at the Wadala station, reducing fatalities by about 75%.

[58] The Central Railway and Western Railway introduced a Blue Light (Virtual Gate) concept, The Blue beam light unit which will be mounted on the top of each Gate, which Guide the Commuter for Safe Boarding, avoid overcrowding and Safe clearance in the Platforms.

The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), a public sector unit of the Government of India under the Ministry of Railways, was incorporated under the (Indian) Companies Act, 1956 on 12 July 1999, with an equity capital of ₹250 million (US$2.9 million) to implement the rail component of an integrated rail-cum-road urban transport project, called Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP).

[71] This distance is 132 km regular, meeting the Indian Railways criteria for EMU services CR has announced that it will carry out trial runs, however it has difficulty due to the Kasara Ghat tunnels.