Mumbai welcomes first AC local train

At Borivali, the crowd welcomed the 12-coach AC EMU by taking selfies in front of the train, which had been decorated with flowers.

MUMBAI welcomed with great fanfare its first air-conditioned local train on the suburban railway system, with a 12-coach train leaving Borivali station at 10.33 am on Monday. While political leaders including BJP MP Kirit Somaiya and BJP MLA Ashish Shelar, and senior railway officials and mediapersons filled the first few coaches for the inaugural ride, the remaining rides saw an increased presence of local commuters.

Regular commuters travelling in the first class compartment of a local train, however, raised concerns about buying a separate ticket for the AC local.

At Borivali, the crowd welcomed the 12-coach AC EMU by taking selfies in front of the train, which had been decorated with flowers.

As it is the first train with automatic doors in the suburban system, many were surprised to see the doors open and close in a matter of minutes.

“We had to alert each commuter who tried to crowd near the footboard and ask them to step inside. Many were confused whether it was a regular local or a passenger train. Others stood at the door just to inquire whether they can travel if they have a first class pass. The confusion was cleared gradually,” a senior Railway Protection Force (RPF) official said.

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“I am a regular commuter of the Western Railway for 40 years. Offering an AC local in a suburban system will remain one of the major contributions of this government,” Hinesh Jethalal, a textile business merchant from Kandivali, said.

As many as six fast train services were planned between Borivali and Churchgate on Western Railway, with the last service to leave Borivali at 2.16 pm and reach Churchgate by 3 pm. Railway officials said the train runs will be on an experimental basis till December 29 and regular services are expected to commence on January 1, 2018.

Uma Nabar, a freelancer at Churchgate, who has been a regular on the WR for 50 years, said, “Though I may not take a monthly pass or be a regular user of the AC local service, this will go down in history. We only want it to run on time and remain free of the crowd,” she added.

Regular commuters in the morning hours complained that many Automated Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM) were not functioning, which led to longer queues at counters. “We are yet to update ATVMs with revised instructions for issuing AC local tickets. To do the same, they were kept off use. The machines became functional later,” a senior railway official said.

Many complained that monthly and seasonal passes of the AC local were not available at all the ticket counters at the station. Others complained of higher fares. The fares of the AC train will be 1.2 times the fare of the first class ticket of a local train.

“Looking at the quality of seats, paying such a high fare for the local service is not welcome. The four members of my family could travel in a car and reach Churchgate at a cheaper rate as compared to the cost of four tickets. It is a good joyride,” Sindhu Bhano, a resident of Borivali, said.

“Within six months since the train was handed over to Western Railway, we have implemented the service. Its carrying capacity is 6,000 passengers. We will modify the coming rakes according to the expectations of commuters,” Mukul Jain, divisional railway manager, Western Railway, said.