The Western Railway has decided to introduce 13 brand-new air-conditioned local train services starting Wednesday and this change is happening because many commuters have been demanding more comfortable train options. With these new additions to the network people traveling on weekdays will now have access to 109 AC train services which is an increase from the earlier count of 96 and even the weekend services are being increased from 52 to 65 which is a great relief for many travelers.
According to Vineet Abhishek who is the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Western Railway the growing demand and love for AC local trains has encouraged this step and this is being done to reduce overcrowding and make traveling better for people. These new trains will not add more to the overall count of services because they are replacing 13 regular non-AC services which means the total number of daily suburban trains will still remain at 1,406.
“I travel daily from Borivali to Churchgate during peak hours, and this increase in AC services is a complete game-changer for commuters like me. The journey is so much more comfortable now, and it feels less stressful to deal with the daily grind.” – Rishikesh Khajbage told The Times of Mumbai.
The first new AC local train is scheduled to depart from Churchgate station at exactly 12:34 PM on Wednesday and after this all trains will follow a new timetable that is revised for the convenience of passengers. Out of the 13 new services six trains will run towards Churchgate and are called UP direction services while the other seven will start from Churchgate and move away which is called DOWN direction services.
“As someone who travels from Bhayandar to Andheri regularly, I think this is a fantastic initiative. It really shows that the railway is listening to passengers and focusing on providing better services and comfort. I couldn’t be happier with this improvement.” – Yamini Kullar told The Times of Mumbai.
Among the UP trains two will travel between Virar and Churchgate another two will connect Bhayandar with Churchgate and there will be one each linking Virar to Bandra and Bhayandar to Andheri. In the DOWN direction two services will run from Churchgate to Virar while other trains will connect Churchgate to Bhayandar Andheri to Virar Bandra to Bhayandar Mahalaxmi to Borivali and Borivali to Bhayandar.
“Traveling from Virar to Bandra has always been chaotic, but I’m thrilled about these new additions. Not only will it reduce the crowd in non-AC trains, but it also gives people like me more options depending on our budget and needs. This is a much-needed change!” – Shrikant Jivte told The Times of Mumbai.
Right now about 1.24 lakh commuters out of the 31 lakh daily riders on Western Railway choose to travel by AC local trains and this number though small contributes a lot to revenue which is why the new trains are expected to further improve earnings. Currently the Western Railway owns a total of eight AC rakes seven of which are already in use and in addition to these they have 111 rakes that include different types of non-AC trains.
