You will be able to ride on an air-conditioned local on the Western Railway from September this year. The Railway Board announced in New Delhi that the operations of AC locals on WR will commece in September.
Senior railway officials said these AC coaches will run on all lines of the Mumbai suburban network — central, western and harbour — in the next three years. The WR is currently carrying out trials of the special local on its routes. The AC local had rolled into Mumbai from the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai in April last year, but was not pressed into service as several tests were pending.
Read: Mumbai’s commute to get cooler: First of 67 AC trains likely by 2020
According to officials, the train is equipped with a talk-back facility where four intercoms will be available to communicate with the motorman in case of an emergency. The train has automatic doors with emergency opening features, and GPS-based destination display on LED indicators. The 12-coach rake, which cost the railways more than Rs50 crore, has a seating capacity of 1,028 passengers, but can ferry close to 6,000 if they are straphangers (standees).
Railway officials said since only one AC rake is manufactured, it would not be possible to operate more than 12 services in a day. To begin with, AC services will run between Churchgate-Borivli and Churchgate-Andheri. Railway officials are also wondering how commuters will react to the fare, which will be much more than that of non-AC first-class coaches. The AC local trains are seen as an attempt to convince commuters, who drive in their cars, to keep their vehicles at home, which will reduce congestion on the city’s roads.
{{/usCountry}}Railway officials said since only one AC rake is manufactured, it would not be possible to operate more than 12 services in a day. To begin with, AC services will run between Churchgate-Borivli and Churchgate-Andheri. Railway officials are also wondering how commuters will react to the fare, which will be much more than that of non-AC first-class coaches. The AC local trains are seen as an attempt to convince commuters, who drive in their cars, to keep their vehicles at home, which will reduce congestion on the city’s roads.
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