That’s the official term to describe what happens during rush hour in Mumbai when 14 to 16 standing passengers pack into one square meter of floor space on the Mumbai Suburban Railway.

During peak hours, 4,700 passengers pack into a 9-car train, against the recommended capacity of 1,700 people, or four passengers per square meter. These jammed conditions are known as “Super Dense Crush Load.”

The Western Railway line is the most heavily traveled public transport corridor in the world, with a 10-car train leaving every three minutes, carrying 5,000 passengers per train, or 100,000 passengers per hour in each direction.

Two zonal railways, Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR), operate the Mumbai Suburban Railway System, which spreads across 319 kilometers. It carries 6.3 million commuters everyday.

What is being done?

As part of Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) , investments are being made to upgrade rail infrastructure with an objective to bring down the number of passengers on each 9-car train to 3,000 people.

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation, a joint venture of the Railways and the Government of Maharashtra, was established for implementing rail projects under the MUTP and other projects of the Railways in the Mumbai metropolitan region. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs. 45,260 million ($943 million). The World Bank sanctioned a loan of Rs. 26,020 million ($542 million), or 57 percent of the total cost on June 18, 2002. (Source: Frontline)