Let's have a discussion on Mumbai's transportation system in relation to the sub-urban system and the impending Metro. As an outsider, these are my views of what I think of the system[suggestions are welcome].
Let's give where credit is due->Mumbai's suburban railway system is efficient, it's damn efficient. Trains are controlled neatly and the system is modernized[can match any Metro system in terms of frequency].But that's it. Unlike Chennai's system, the suburban system is built on the ground without proper fencing or other measures. It leads to accidents. The super dense load of the trains leads to people falling off and what not. More than a 1000 people[very conservative estimate, in 2008, 7 people died each day] die from various reason due...
more...

to the system. As with most cases, the blame is ambiguous since these people don't have an alternative. The trains are the lifeline and people have to put their lives in danger for that.That's where Metro comes in. It's safe. Nobody falls from it or gets overrun. Just think about it, thousands of people would be saved if there had been a functioning Metro system instead of the suburban rail[aka like Delhi].Mumbai should have had a fully functioning Metro system by now but the government did nothing and the city suffered. They wasted money on a useless Monorail[no feeding systems to the Monorail stations; less than 16k pax a day].
What do you think needs to be done to improve this critical situation?Is expanding the suburban railway the solution or rapid expansion for the Metro project is needed?