What was announced as a major relief for commuters on the Uran suburban line has instead triggered confusion and anger, with passengers alleging that revised train timings introduced from December 15, 2025, have disrupted daily travel on the Uran-Nerul and Uran-Belapur routes.
On this line, the Central Railway recently increased services by 10 additional trains, citing the need to support shift-based commuters and upcoming operations at the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). However, commuters say the execution has left them struggling, especially on the first day of implementation when updated schedules were not reflected on the M-Indicator app.
Revised timetable
Earlier, the first train from Kharkopar departed at 6.30 am, while the last service left at 10.20 pm. Under the revised schedule, the first train now runs at 5.46 am, with the last service from Kharkopar curtailed to 10.46 pm. Also, the first train from Nerul was at 7.10 am and now it has been revised to 6.15 am, and the last train is at 9.30 pm instead of 8.55 pm. From Belapur, the first train was at 6.30 am, which has now been revised to 5.30 am and the last train, which was at 9.32 pm has been revised to 10.30 pm.
Key services
Timing shifts of key services have also broken long-standing travel routines. The popular 8.55 am Kharkopar-Belapur train was rescheduled to 9.01 am, catching many commuters off guard. Several passengers missed their connecting Belapur-CSMT locals, a daily linkage they had relied upon for years. To compound matters, commuters claim that on the first two days, multiple services were four to five minutes late, despite the rescheduling.
Unhappy commuters
Ashish Rekhate, a businessman, said the impact was immediate: “The train timings have been changed with effect from December 15, and on the very first day several trains were late. My friend, who has been catching the 8.55 am train to Belapur from Kharkopar for years, discovered that it was shifted to 9.01 am only after reaching the station. The train was delayed by another four to five minutes, and now he can no longer catch the 9.20 am Belapur-CSMT local he has depended on for the last four years.”
Evening commuters have also been hit. The last train from Nerul, earlier at 8.55 pm, now runs at 9.30 pm, while the last Belapur service is at 10.30 pm, forcing passengers to wait for long intervals if they miss the scheduled trains. Pravin Vij, a resident of Sector-17, Ulwe, who travels on this route, said the intent was positive but acknowledged the inconvenience.
Vij said, “The decision to increase 10 trains on the Uran-Nerul and Uran-Belapur routes is meant to benefit passengers. However, due to the reshuffling of timings, a section of commuters has been affected and inconvenienced.” Another commuter, Govind Pal, linked the move to airport readiness. “The Railways have taken this decision keeping in mind airport workers, as NMIA’s first flight is expected on December 25. Every decision works well for some and not for others,” he said.
Senior railway officials said the revised timetable was designed to suit shift-based travel, pointing out that the line has a limited number of end-to-end rakes and low station revenue, which restricts further expansion for now. Dr Swapnil Nila, chief PRO, Central Railway, said, “The changes in the timings have been made because of the introduction of 10 new trains and operationalisation of two stations, Gavan and Targhar. The additional services and extended period of operations are likely to benefit all the passengers.”
