MUMBAI: What’s good for real estate may not to be so good for the railways, a fact that is being played out in Mumbai, where the explosion of residences and population in the suburbs is choking the city’s lifeline — the suburban railways.

Sample this: The average passenger count from Dombivli — a town in Thane district on the outskirts of Mumbai — has risen to 2,19,741, which is 6% more than the average passenger count at the famous Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), which serves two arterial lines: central and harbour. The crush of people is not only making travel a nightmare in the suburbs , but the suburban rail system is creaking under its weight. For 24-year-old Bhavana Shaji, a resident of Kharghar in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai , the daily commute to work has become a torture. “In recent times, the passenger rush has become such that on most days I have to stand all the way to Andheri,” she says.The real estate boom in far-flung suburbs like Kharghar, Virar (western line) and Dombivli (central line) is weighing on the railways, which is trying to cope with the pressure of growing passenger traffic. “The passenger growth has put pressure on the railways as Kharghar has been growing dramatically,” says Mukesh Nigam, divisional railway manager (Central Railways). The average daily passenger traffic originating from Kharghar station has grown around 38%, from 23,886 in 2009-10 to 33,000 in 2012-13 . “Already there are 16 services an hour during peak hours, but we can’t make it 17 since there’s a limit to increasing services ,” he says. Currently, the Central Railways runs 583 nine-car (coach) trains on the harbour line, up from 532 in 2009-10 .Kharghar GrowingKharghar, which has good infrastructure and various educational and professional institutions, has seen massive growth in real estate in the past couple of years. “The upcoming first phase of the Metro Rail project, the Iskcon temple, phase II of Central Park and the 18-hole golf course are some of the major reasons for the growth in real estate in Kharghar,” says Manish Bathija, managing director of Paradise group, which has 10 under-construction residential projects in the area and plans to launch two more in the coming months. “The reason for having all 10 projects in the same area is due to the demand we are seeing in the area and also its prospects,” says Bathija.Besides, Kharghar is a ‘no-alcohol’ (dry) zone. “It is easier for families with children as there are no alcohol shops, and the area is also an educational hub,” says Devang Trivedi, secretary of the Builders’ Association of Navi Mumbai, a group of organised builders and developers across Navi Mumbai. In the past three years, real estate prices in Kharghar have more than doubled to Rs 8,000 per square feet from around Rs 3,800-4 ,000 per square feet. Nisarg , Arihant, Adhiraj and Regency are some of the developers building projects in Kharghar. The suburb currently has 2,702 unsold units.Dombivli CallingOn the central line, from CST to Khopoli/ Kasara, there has been huge growth in suburbs like Dombivli. “Dombivli has become one of the stations with the highest footfall , surpassing even CST,” says Nigam. Currently, the average daily passenger count originating from Dombivali station is 2,19,741, higher than that of 2,07,173 in CST. In November 2011, all central line trains were converted to 12-car services and 16 fifteen-car services were launched in October 2012 to cope with the passenger rush. The Central Railway services on the main line have gone up from 754 in 2009-10 to 803 in 2012-13 . In recent years, many buildings and townships have sprung up in Dombivli . “Government decrees and infrastructural plans make these markets interesting options, both from a livability and an investment perspective,” says R Karthik, chief marketing officer of Lodha group, which is building an integrated township project in Dombivli. “In order to improve connectivity, there is a proposed monorail by MMRDA, a transport hub, six-lane highway, etc.” he adds.Currently, the average real estate price in Dombivli is Rs 4,250 per square feet, up from Rs 3,000 per square feet in 2011. “Dombivli still has the scope for developing infrastructure and connectivity, which will further improve its residential growth,” says Mudassir Zaidi, national director (residential ) for global property consultant Knight Frank India. The town has 5.8 quarters (6,762 units) of available inventory. The Central Railways, which runs both harbour and central lines, has seen growth in daily passenger traffic from 36.7 lakhs in 2009-10 to 42 lakhs in 2013-14 .Virar FastIn the western suburbs, Virar has emerged as a residential market because of its connectivity and affordability. The western line services ply between Churchgate and Virar, and the average daily passenger traffic originating from Virar has gone up from 1,50,498 in 2010-11 to 1,74,500 in 2012-13.“Population in Virar and the nearby areas has increased, but the railway infrastructure has not improved,” says Shailendra Kumar , divisional railway manager (Mumbai Central) of the Western Railways. To meet the growing passenger traffic, the number of services on this line has been increased from 1,210 in 2010-11 to 1,305 in 2012-13 , apart from the 20 additional local services by Electrical Multiple Units (EMUs) between Churchgate and Dahanu. The Western Railways was the first to introduce 15-car suburban services in 2009-10 which increased the passenger carrying capacity per train by 33%, but even this didn’t seem to be adequate.Many developers like Rustomjee, HDIL, Tata Housing, Ekta World, etc. have between them, developed over 20 million sq ft in Virar. “Availability of large tracts of land at affordable cost is driving residential growth in Virar,” says Boman Irani, chairman and managing director of Rustomjee Group, which is building an integrated township, Rustomjee Evershine Global City at Virar, spread over 217 acres. “Looking at the growth and development in the area, Virar is set to become another business district in the coming years,” Irani added. Ekta World, another developer, having projects in the western suburbs, is building a residential project in Virar — Ekta Parksville.“The added facilities and infrastructural support like quadrupling rail lines and extensions up to Dahanu further enhances the progress in this direction ,” says Ashok Mohanani, chairman and managing director of Ekta World. Several initiatives such as the coastal road between Versova and Virar by MSRDC and the Virar-Alibaug corridor by MMRDA further accentuate the potential of the region. “With the increased human resource in the region , the transition of the destination to a Central Business District is expected,” he added. Currently, the residential inventory level in Virar is around 6.5 quarters or 7,803 unsold units. “Large tracts of land at affordable prices are available in these suburbs and this is driving growth of residential markets there,” says Zaidi. Further, the shift of economic clusters towards the north of Mumbai has also shifted the focus towards these newly emerging residential pockets in suburbs, he says.