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Commuters happy as AC local schedule on phone app
Almost a month after the Central Railway (CR) started AC local services on the trans-harbour line, the schedule is now available on the m-Indicator app.
Almost a month after the Central Railway (CR) started AC local services on the trans-harbour line, the schedule is now available on the m-Indicator app.
Hindustan Times had recently reported on commuters complaining about lack of information on AC train services at trans-harbour stations and on the m-Indicator app. In the absence of proper information about the schedule, people were unable to plan their commute.
The AC train was flagged off from Panvel on January 30 and regular services started from the next day.
AK Jain, senior public relations officer (SPRO) of Central Railway, said, “The data related to the schedule of the AC train was given to a private agency, the schedule has been updated [on the system] a few days ago and now it reflects on the app.”
“The problem was fixed and the schedule is now available on the phone,” said Jain.
“For a long time, we were not able to get any information about the AC train schedule on the app. So, we were not able to plan travelling in AC local,” said Shubham Rane, 32, a Panvel resident who travels by train to Airoli every day.
It took time for ticket sale to pick up. According to CR officials, on an average, 248 tickets for AC services are sold on a daily basis. The AC local originates from Panvel, Vashi, Nerul and Thane stations.
The Central Railway has introduced 16 services, eight in morning peak hours and eight in the evening. After its inaugural run on January 30, there was a stampede-like situation on January 31 at Thane station as people with regular tickets too boarded the train.
An official said, “As temperature is rising, the ticket sale for AC local has improved. We are sure that ticket sales would go up as soon as summer starts.”
“It’s good that the schedule is available on the m-Indicator app. Many people were unable to plan their travel as they did not known the schedule of the local. It will be convenient for us to plan travelling by AC train,” said Adesh Rana, 50, a Kharghar resident.
