CR to add 10 new AC local services

At present, 56 AC local services are operational on the Central line which will increase to 66 after the addition.

Mumbai: The Central Railway on Monday announced that ten more air-conditioned local services will be added on the main line to benefit Thane, Kalyan and Badlapur commuters. The services will be operational on both up and down lines to and from CSMT.

The number of trains, however, will remain the same. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

At present, 56 AC local services are operational on the Central line which will increase to 66 after the addition. The number of trains, however, will remain the same.

“The additional AC local services will replace some of the existing non-AC services on the main line. Based on the increasing demand on these routes we have made this decision. The existing AC trains will be used for the additional services,” said an officer from CR. Railways will announce a date for the start of these services soon.

Officials from the CR said a total of 1,810 services are running on the suburban line daily at present which will remain unchanged.

The ten additional services include two up and two down on the Thane-CSMT route, two up and two down on the Badlapur-CSMT route and one up and one down service on the Kalyan-CSMT route.

“The traffic on this route has increased six times since February this year, the response has been better after fares were slashed in the first week of May,” said Anil Kumar Lahoti, General Manager, Central Railway.

The move comes after more commuters opt for AC locals. When compared with other means of air-conditioned commutes, like cabs or buses, the AC locals are economical and faster, said officials.