The suburban railway system in Mumbai is managed by the Indian Railways. The organisation manages more than 100,000 km of tracks all over India and carries more than 11 million people a day. The organisation is under the direct control of the Ministry of Railways in the Government of India. Policy is created by the minister in consultation with the eight members of the Railway Board. Each of nine zones of the railways is managed by a General Manager. The offices of the General Managers of the Central and Western zone are located in Mumbai.
Although Mumbai's suburban railway system is an important component of the nationwide network, the needs of the city are often at variance with the requirements elsewhere in the country. In 1998 the Railway Ministry's budget envisioned setting up the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation to handle Mumbai's suburban railway system, with participation from the Maharashtra state government.