MUMBAI: IT was all cheers and applause at the Borivali railway station on Monday morning as the first air-conditioned suburban train commenced its services.Billed as a Christmas gift to the people of Mumbai, the fully air-conditioned 12-coach train was flagged off from Borivali at 10.30 am by railway officials and BJP leaders, including local MP Gopal Shetty, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde, Mumbai BJP president and MLA Ashish Shelar, and BJP MP Kirit Somaiya.
The train halted at four stops – Andheri, Bandra, Dadar and Bombay Central - on the route and reached Churchgate at 11.16 am.
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Manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, the coaches, equipped with air suspension, can carry nearly 6,000 commuters per rake. The train has state-of-the-art features such as automatic door opening systems, LED lights, an emergency system for communication between commuters and the guard, and a public address system. It also has an advanced GPS-based passenger information system to guide commuters in case of any emergency.
“Air-conditioned trains are a must in metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, where people have to battle heat and dust on their way to office. They can now travel comfortably. This, I hope, will encourage more people to use public transport along with the Metro. This will take more cars off the road and reduce congestion,” Tawde said during the inauguration of the service.
Western Railway General Manager Anil Kumar Gupta said, “This train is being run with a prototype coach, and commuters’ feedback would be invited to be incorporated into the net fleet of coaches.”
To begin with, six services of the air-conditioned suburban train will be operated for a week. Until December 29, the train will ply only on the Churchgate-Borivali route thrice a day in each direction. From January 1, the number of services will be doubled and the train will start plying between Churchgate and Virar.
Initially, the services of the air-conditioned train would be limited to weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays, the air-conditioned local train will not be operated as it will undergo maintenance.According to Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, the services of the air-conditioned local train will replace the existing services, so the total average number of suburban services on WR’s suburban section will remain 1,355 even after the introduction of the air-conditioned local train.
Out of the 12 services of the air-conditioned local train, eight will be fast trains between Churchgate and Virar.The remaining service will run as a slow service from Mahalaxmi to Borivali, stopping at all stations on the way.
To begin with, the fare for the air-conditioned local train will be 1.2 times the cost of a first-class ticket on a regular local train. The railway administration has plans to increase this to 1.3 times the price of a first-class ticket. There will be weekly, fortnightly and monthly season tickets available at 5.0 times, 7.5 times and 10 times the cost of regular first-class tickets, plus a five percent GST and other applicable charges.
The fare for a single journey ranges between Rs 60 and Rs 205. Some of the commuters complained that the fare was high.The most talked-about feature of train was the door system. The train will not move unless all the doors are closed, and the doors will not open until the train stops.
Mumbaikars, who took the first ride, expressed delight at the new service.
"It's quite unbelievable. I can't express my feeling. I pray to the almighty that every local is made like this," Sheela Raut, a commuter, said.
Railway activists too expressed happiness at the launch of the AC train.
Kailash Verma, an activist of the Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh, said, "The commissioning of this train is a 0testimony that the Indian Railways is trying hard to meet the demands of the passengers. I hope that maintenance and punctuality of the trains will be monitored on priority."
(with PTI inputs)