MUMBAI: In an important development , the cabinet subcommittee on infrastructure has cleared the proposal to convert all nine-car trains into 12-car ones on the Harbour line. This will increase the passenger-carrying capacity by 33%.

A senior official said, "The cabinet sub-committee gave its approval a couple of days ago. It is a forward-moving development, considering that 12-car trains are going to become a necessity on the Harbour line. The project may find a mention in the railway budget."

According to estimates, passenger growth on the Harbour Line stood at 10% per annum as against 3% registered by the Main line of Central Railway as well as the Western Railway.

The total number of services on CR is 1,573, which also includes 208 services on the Thane-Vashi-Nerul-Panvel- Trans-Harbour route. As many as 580 services are on Harbour line, of which 172 services operate between CST and Bandra, and CST and Andheri.

As of now, all the 785 services on the Main line of the Central Railway have been converted into 12 cars. Western Railway has also assured that their services will be converted to 12 cars by March-April .

In anticipation of the project getting a mention in the railway budget, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has already begun preparing the layout of the stations whose platforms will have to undergo modification to accommodate 12-car trains.

By carrying out the process at this stage, MRVC will be well-prepared to issue tenders as soon as the budgetary approval comes in. The process will be complete in less than two months." MRVC expects to complete the project in three years once work begins on the ground.

Total work on this project, including augmentation of the existing nine-car fleet to 12 cars, is estimated to cost Rs 800 crore. Apart from increasing the length of the platforms, the railway will also have to make changes in the location of signals , besides altering the overhead equipment.