Commuters on Mumbai's Central Railway line have been waiting for an AC local and their wish will soon come true as the officials have decided that the much-awaited local will embark on its first journey on January 29, 2019. The train will run on the Thane-Vashi-Panvel route and will be inaugurated by the Minister of State for Railways, Suresh Angadi.
The first few AC locals in Mumbai were introduced by the Western Railway and after observing the success, the first train for Central Railway was also planned few months back. Officials introduced the same at the Chennai Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in December 2019 and it was tested on Central Railway's Trans-Harbour route, via Thane-Vashi-Panvel.
Earlier it was said that the train will be inaugurated on January 24 but the dates were postponed to January 29, 2020, keeping the ongoing protests in mind. Not many are aware that the first ever AC local train was originally planned for Central Railway but the plan was then changed as officials observed issues with the height of the bridges and some technical obstacles.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) then proposed that their team would build a train compatible with the current bridge height and hence this new AC local trains are made 13 mm shorter in height than the ones on Western Railway.
The proposed plan mentiones that the AC local train will conduct 16 journeys throughout the day and in order to make way for the AC local trains, Central Railway will remove the old retro-fitted DC/AC local trains running on the route. Coaches towards the ends of the train will be reserved for women and will have RPF constables appointed for the women's safety.
The fare for the journey between Thane and Vashi will be ₹130 and between Thane and Panvel will be ₹175.
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