Bharat Kadam, a Bhandup resident, who works at Breach Candy, had a less hectic train journey on Sunday morning. Kadam was not the only one. After the inaugural train from the newly opened Parel terminus was flagged off by Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, many said that it benefitted them.

"This is a good service. If not anything else, it will reduce the number of passengers on trains that end at Parel. It will be beneficial for patients who come to several hospitals in this area," Kadam, who earlier used to get off at Parel to board a train on the western line, said.

Commuters said that empty trains at the Parel station or even less crowded ones will now be a sight as these trains will start from or terminate at Parel. Sixteen pairs (to and from) of slow trains will now terminate or originate from Parel.

Parel and Prabhadevi stations, on an average, see a footfall of close to 2.5 lakh commuters daily. These two places, which earlier formed the centre of mills, have transformed into a central business district where lakhs of people come to work on a daily basis. Business centres and commercial outlets now adorn the area where earlier only chimneys stood. The crowd during peak hours is unimaginable. The stampede in 2017 had caused a major uproar after which a new foot over bridge was constructed at Prabhadevi. After the terminal was inaugurated, work on an additional platform began on Sunday.

Anand Vaidya, a Badlapur resident and a media professional said, "For someone who has been travelling on Mumbai local trains for the past eight years and working in Lower Parel for the past six years, it is a relief that trains have started from Parel. This part of the island city has witnessed humongous increase in passenger footfall in the recent past and a direct train from Parel is an absolute blessing for commuters."

There's also a fear amongst some that the crowd at Parel might increase now because people from nearby areas who would normally commute to Dadar for a train would now come to Parel to board one.

THE SITUATION

• Parel and Prabhadevi stations, on an average, see a footfall of close to 2.5 lakh commuters daily   
• These two places, which earlier formed the hub of mills, have transformed into a central business district   
• Some fear that footfall at Parel may increase further now