Mumbai’s lifeline is on the cusp of a dramatic change: by December 2025, every local train in the city will run with doors shut. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed the shift on Saturday, framing it as a long-overdue safety measure for a network that carries more than 75 lakh daily passengers.
Mumbai Local Trains To Run With Closed Doors By December 2025
According to Mid-Day, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that any local train in Mumbai must now run with closed doors as it is essential for commuter safety. He announced that all new trains built for the city, AC or otherwise, will follow this standard.
The ministry has been running trials in three directions: retrofitting doors onto the existing fleet, building non-AC trains with doors installed from the start, and continuing the practice with AC locals, which already come with sealed-door systems. Retrofitting has begun, with the aim of finishing the job by December 2025. A tender has also been issued for 238 new AC trains, the minister confirmed.
For decades, images of passengers leaning dangerously out of crowded coaches have been emblematic of Mumbai’s rail system. The closed-door model, Ashwini Vaishnaw argued, is the only way to curb such accidents. Conscious of worries about stuffiness, he added a small but telling detail: oxygen levels will be monitored and balanced to avoid discomfort. He remarked that even dry eyes will be taken care of.
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Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project Achieves Key Tunnel Milestone
The announcement coincided with a separate milestone in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. Engineers have completed a five-kilometre tunnel between Ghansoli and Shilphata, part of a 21-km underground stretch linking Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Shilphata.
Built using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), the segment includes India’s first undersea rail tunnel, a seven-kilometre passage beneath Thane Creek. The remaining 16 kilometres will be carved with tunnel-boring machines, as stated by Mid-Day.
The tunnel itself is a single tube with a diameter of 13.1 metres, wide enough to house up and down tracks. Executed by Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, the work demanded navigating the notoriously tough Deccan Trap rock formation while maintaining strict safety standards.
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Between the promise of safer suburban trains and the slow but steady march of the bullet train project, Vaishnaw’s twin announcements point to a future in which Mumbai’s railways move toward a modern and a more controlled experience, both for daily commutes and for long journeys.
Cover Image Courtesy: anonymousboii/Wikipedia
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