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ABSTRACT
Mumbai is the financial and commercial capital of India. Mumbai wouldn't have achieved this without the lifeline of the city -its local trains. For any large densely populated urban area, the local trains are essential for a speedy cross-over of a large population over long distances. Lakhs of people travel regularly and commute by local trains over varying distances ranging from 10 to 60 kilometer a day.
The Mumbai local railway network branches out through three main lines - Central, Western and the Harbour, each connecting a distinct part of the city to another.. It may be considered as one of the best example of strategic management in transport.
Most commuters use this means of transport to reach the places of their job, profession, business and educational purposes. Most travelers commuting on a daily basis hold season passes that makes the local train travel even more cost-efficient.
The paper brings out the main findings of a field survey on Mumbai Local trains daily travelers that was conducted to have a greater insight into the socio-economic role played by this major public transport system in the widespread expansion and economic progress of the city. The field survey tried to capture the various aspects of suburban local train travelers in terms of number of family members travelling by the local trains, the purpose of their travel, average distances covered and number of hours spent per day, number of years travelled by the local trains, extent of socialization that takes place among the regular commuters, the safety and security aspects and provisions for any kind of emergencies that arise in the regular train travel. Around 200 randomly selected respondents were covered in the field survey.
The recent initiatives to ease out the pressure on the suburban local trains and the possibilities of alternative modes of speedy transport for the regular commuters of Mumbai also have been analysed in this paper.
Keywords: Mumbai, Suburban Local Trains, Lifeline, Field Survey
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Introduction
Mumbai is the financial capital in India. It is situated in the state of Maharashtra and is connected internally and externally by roadways, railways and airways. Mumbai is an island city in which 88% of the people travel by the local trains.