Mumbai: AC coaches may be added to existing suburban trains

The suburban trains in Mumbai may soon be long-distance trains, with the commuters having the choice to travel in AC, first-class or second-class coaches.

The suburban trains in Mumbai may soon be long-distance trains, with the commuters having the choice to travel in AC, first-class or second-class coaches.

In a meeting between Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) on Friday, a number of key projects and the assistance required for their smooth execution were discussed.

If the Railways’ current plan takes off, the local trains will have three coaches each of AC and first class and six or nine coaches of second class, depending on whether they are 12-car or 15-car trains.

“We discussed different ways of implementing the AC coaches, once the trains arrive in October. We contemplated the possibility of adding AC coaches in the existing trains. This will give the commuters choice of traveling in AC, first and second class in the same train,” said Sunil Kumar Sood, general manager, CR and WR.

The Railways are mulling the construction of two additional lines on the Panvel-Karjat line. This is one of the key infrastructure projects sanctioned in the Railway Budget. The railway board has approved infrastructure projects worth Rs11,441crore in suburban section, which includes doubling of Panvel-Karajt line; Airoli-Kalwa link and Virar-Dahanu quadrupling.

At present, there is just one line along the section, largely used for freight trains. The CR has demanded two additional lines so that the existing line remains exclusively for freight trains, while suburban and passenger trains can be run on the additional lines.

“In the meeting, the detailed requirements of CR and WR in MUTP III projects were discussed. They are welcome to come up with suggestions to help the implementation of projects,” said Prabhat Sahai chairman and managing director, MRVC.