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Central railway locals to get six more 15-coach services from Monday
Railway minister Piyush Goyal will flag off the 15-coach services on the main line of CR during the inauguration of the ₹51-crore Parel terminus on Sunday
The central railway (CR) is all set to get six more 15-coach suburban services from Monday. Of these, two will run between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Dombivli, while the remaining four will replace the existing 12-coach services. The new services will bring the number of 15-coach services on CR to 22.
Railway minister Piyush Goyal will flag off the 15-coach services on the main line of CR during the inauguration of the ₹51-crore Parel terminus on Sunday. The minister will also launch 32 suburban services that will be extended to Parel terminus.
More than 40 lakh people travel on the CR daily. “The new 15-coach services will be operated from CSMT-Thane, CSMT-Dombivli and CSMT-Kalyan. Of the six, three services will be north-bound (down) and three south-bound (up),” said a senior CR official.
In October 2012, the CR first introduced 16 suburban services with 15-coach locals on its main line. Of these, 12 services operated between CSMT and Kalyan, while the remaining four between Dadar and Kalyan. The WR added the first 15-coach local to its network on November 21, 2009.
Goyal had asked both the WR and CR to introduce more 15-coach services, taking the demand from public representatives and passengers’ groups into account.
Acting on the railway minister’s directives, the CR has come up with a ₹453-crore plan to run more 15-coach services, while the WR has prepared a plan worth ₹490 crore. Railway officers are awaiting nod for the projects. “We have been demanding 15-coach services for the past several years. Every time, we were told there is no space to park the trains. Ahead of the elections, how did the authorities find the space,” asked Nandkumar Deshmukh, a passenger activist from Thane.
Railway officials, however, claimed they have built a new siding (parking) line at Kalyan for the trains last month.
Some railway officials said adding new 15-coach services on the oversaturated suburban CR network could affect the punctuality of other trains.
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