MUMBAI, June 25 -- On Mumbai's suburban railway network, where every second counts, the Western Railway (WR) will deploy 'pushers' at high-footfall stations to speed up boarding and ensure trains stay on schedule. Even a few extra seconds lost during halts can snowball into delays across the network. These 'pushers' will be trained staff, who will facilitate boarding particularly for overcrowded air-conditioned (AC) locals during peak hours as these locals have emerged as a chief cause of delays on the network, say WR officials. "AC locals have automatic doors and limited entry and exit points. During peak hours, passengers take longer to board and alight, which increases the halt time at stations, impacting the punctuality of subsequent services," an official said. According to railway data, of the WR's 1,414 suburban services operated on Tuesday, as many as 1,135 services were delayed by 5 minutes or more. Nearly 60 services recorded delays ranging between 10 and 30 minutes. This is impacting the travel schedule of 3 million daily commuters, official say. Air-conditioned locals, whose tickets cost more, are being patronised increasingly by ticketless travellers. "AC trains are packed like regular locals now. At stations such as Andheri, Borivali and Dadar, commuters struggle to enter and exit. With the doors remaining open longer than scheduled, delays are now routine," said a commuter, Rajesh Sharma, who travels daily from Mira Road to Churchgate. WR sources 18,305 cases of ticketless travel in AC locals were detected in May, a 323% increase in over May last year - the highest recorded since AC suburban services were introduced. Both suburban railways, Western and Central, plan to gradually replace regular locals with AC trains, a plan many believe is not feasible, given the massive number of commuters on both suburban networks, and the enhanced ticket prices. WR officials say there are currently no plans to increase the number of AC services during peak hours. Commuter activist Subhash Gupta said the railways must focus on increasing carrying capacity rather than relying solely on crowd-management measures. "Deploying 'pushers' may help reduce halt times, but the long-term solution lies in better capacity planning and stricter enforcement against ticketless travel," he said....