Now, brace for new fare hike in AC locals from June 1

Mumbai: Commuters will need to shell out extra from the pocket for travelling in air-conditioned local train from June 1. Senior official said the fares of the AC local will increase to 1.3 times the current fare, that is the current one of 1.2 times. On May 30, the Ministry of Railways decided to withdraw the introductory offer of AC local train of 1.2 times the normal fare. Due to this decision, the basic fare of single journey will now be 1.3 times of the basic fare of the existing single journey First Class tickets. According to Western Railway (WR) officials, the Railway Board in Delhi approved the fare hike late on Thursday evening. “We are yet to calculate the new fare chart. It will be ready by Friday,” said a WR official. They will be levied separately. However, no difference of fare will be collected on season tickets of AC EMU that are already issued. Mumbai AC local train services started from December 25, 2017. Back then it was decided that for the first six months, as an introductory offer, the fare of the AC train will be 1.2 times of base fare of First Class and after that it will be charged as 1.3 times. However this introductory offer was extended till May 31, 2019 as the WR was not getting enough patrons for this AC local.