New Delhi, Dec 25: The Western Railway will flag off India’s first air-conditioned local train on Monday. The AC local will initially run on an experimental basis for a week only in the Churchgate-Borivili section and from January 1, it will ply from Churchgate to Virar, having 12 services per day.
Issuing a statement on Sunday, the Western Railways charted out train’s operational routine stating, “Out of 12 services of the AC local train, eight will run as fast local trains between Churchgate and Virar, stopping only at major stations like Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra, Andheri, Borivali, Bhayander & Vasai Road in both directions,” the WR statement said.
“Three fast services will run between Churchgate and Borivali stopping at Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra and Andheri stations in both directions, it went on to add. One slow service of the AC local will operate between Mahalaxmi to Borivali,” the statement added.
The base fare of the single journey of AC local shall be 1.3 times of the base fare of existing fare of single journey first class ticket. There will be weekly, fortnightly and monthly season tickets available at 5, 7.5 and 10 times of the fare of regular first class ticket rates, besides a five percent GST and other applicable charges.
Manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, the fully air-conditioned air-suspension coaches have a capacity of carrying nearly 6,000 commuters per rake, automatic door opening-closing system, LED lights, Emergency Talk Back System between commuters and guard besides a public address system, advanced GPS-based passenger information systems, speeds of upto 100 kmph, air-tight vestibules inter-connecting all 12 coaches, other modern amenities and latest safety features for commuters.
(With inputs from agencies)