Central Railway’s 1st AC local to run on Thane-Panvel route

Central Railway (CR), on Thursday, confirmed that its first air-conditioned (AC) local train will soon operate on the trans-harbour route between Thane and Panvel

Central Railway (CR), on Thursday, confirmed that its first air-conditioned (AC) local train will soon operate on the trans-harbour route between Thane and Panvel railway stations. The train is likely to be introduced in January and is currently undergoing a final set of trials on the zonal railways’ tracks.

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The AC train will replace one presently-operational non-AC train on the trans-harbour route. In all, 16 AC train services will be introduced, out of which six will operate during rush hours.

“The train will operate on the trans-harbour railway line. Trials and preparations of the AC train is going on. The date of the launch of services has not been finalised yet. It will be announced after approval from the railway board,” said Sanjeev Mittal, general manager, CR.

The train arrived in Mumbai in December and underwent a three-week trial. Concerns starting from the height of the train, air-conditioning and seating arrangements of the train were inspected.

The zonal railway had earlier raised issues regarding the height of the AC train with Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. While the height of the train was reduced, the placement of grab handles inside the compartment was also lowered, which may hurt commuters.

CR will get six more AC local trains by March 2020.

Automatic doors on WR

The Western Railway has started trials of automatic doors on non-AC local trains

Three compartments of a train are fitted with closing doors of which trials were conducted on Wednesday at Nallasopara station.