Mumbai: Considering the increasing ridership in air-conditioned (AC) locals, the Western Railway (WR) has planned to introduce around 8-10 more services, including vestibule rakes, by October end.
A senior rail official said that a new timetable is being worked out for introducing the new services. Currently, WR operates 79 local AC train services on its suburban section between Churchgate-Virar.
These new services will be of most benefit to commuters of the 7.54am AC service, which earlier used to run between Borivali and Churchgate but was later extended up to Virar. Demanding to rollback the decision, they have submitted a petition with over 1,000 signatures. Also, other commuters have asked to increase AC services owing to overcrowding during peak hours. “Most AC trains are packed during peak hours. The WR needs to introduce more AC services as soon as possible,” said frequent commuter Manisha Shah. One Mahesh Shah said, “Before finalising the new timetable, the WR should conduct a station-wise survey of regular AC local commuters.”
However, the introduction of vestibule rakes may take a while longer as the nod of the Railway Board is awaited. “This rake is kept ready. We are hoping that within a couple of days the railway board will give green signal to the introduction of fully-vestibule AC rake,” said a rail official.
