Commuters urge WR not to curb AC services

MUMBAI: Commuters urge Western Railway to maintain AC train services despite political pressure, citing high demand and full capacity during peak hours.

MUMBAI: Commuter associations and passengers have cautioned the Western Railway against succumbing to political pressure and altering train schedules and reducing the number of air-conditioned (AC) trains plying on the suburban route. On Thursday, a meeting between Western Railway (WR) authorities and the Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC) - a body appointed by the Indian Railways representing train commuters - discussed this issue, among other things.

Commuters urge WR not to curb AC services

On December 3, the Shiv Sena (UBT) had organised a protest at Bhayander station, where they opposed the replacing of the 8.24 am Churchgate-bound non-AC local with an AC local. They claimed that AC services were not being adequately patronised.

Following the protest, last week, the WR revised its train schedule and increased the number of coaches, from 12 to 15, for two non-AC services starting from Bhayander. The revision was in response to demands made by the Sena (UBT) to withdraw suburban AC services during morning peak hours.

Opposing this decision, DRUCC members at Thursday’s meeting urged the railway not to curtail the services of AC local trains, especially those connecting Bhayander and Virar with Churchgate, sources said. “There is ample demand for AC trains, which operate at full capacity. There is no space to board Churchgate-bound trains from Borivali during morning peak hours and vice versa during evening rush hour. We demanded that the new AC train that has come to the Central Railway and is lying unused be shifted to WR,” said Rajiv Singhal, member, DRUCC. “I have appealed to local railway officials and the ministry of railways not to succumb to political pressure”.

In November, the Central Railway, after more than two years, received an AC local train with advanced technology that creates more room for passengers. Sources in the WR who were present at the meeting said they have asked the Railway Board if this train could be transferred from the CR to the WR.

Currently, WR has nine local AC trains and operates 109 trips daily. These AC locals carry over 4% of the passengers on the railway and account for 23% of the railway’s revenue. The average daily number of commuters using AC locals on the WR is around 125,000, of the total 2.9 million commuters travelling on the 120-km-long Churchgate–Dahanu route.

The Central Railway operates six AC locals, with five of them in service operating 66 services. When inducted, the seventh new AC train will be used when other trains are under maintenance. “There is no proposal to send our AC rake to the WR and it will be used for our services after fitment. This new rake will be needed to avoid cancellation of AC trains on Saturdays and Sundays,” said a CR official.