Mumbai: Central Railway (CR) commuters’ wait for an AC train ride will shortly come to an end — the first air-conditioned service will beoperational between Thane and Panvel and Panvel and Vashi railway stations on the trans-Harbour section by the end of this month, senior railway officials have confirmed.
“We are waiting for the final trial run of the AC local and there is some technical work which will be completed in the next week, after which it will be commissioned on the trans-Harbour section.
The first AC local will be operated by two motorwomen - Mumtaz Kazi and Manisha Maske,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer, CR.
Further, said Sutar, the AC rake is currently stationed at the Kurla carshed. It has closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside the ladies compartments and outside the motorman’s cabin, to curb incidents of stone pelting.
The routes of the AC local were decided after consulting the representatives of all passenger associations, which were unanimous in their demand that existing services should not be disrupted, in order to induct the AC local.
They demanded the train be incorporated as a new service in the existing time table. “We will be replacing existing two services on the trans-Harbour section, instead of running additional services.
All the members agreed to the decision of operating 16 services on the trans-Harbour line in the Thane-Panvel and Thane-Vashi section,” said a railway official.
CR will get six more AC locals in the future, of which one will be received in the first week of March. “It will be able to carry 6,000 passengers and has features like the ‘emergency talkback’ system, for passengers to communicate with the train’s guard, and a GPS-based passenger information system,” he added.
