The Railway Board has approved the proposal for AC local train services between CSMT and Kalyan for commuters, for which the Central Railway (CR) will introduce 10 air-conditioned local services on a trial basis on this route.
This decision has been taken keeping in mind the current passenger traffic, which is lighter than usual given the restrictions imposed to keep the pandemic in check. Also, the Railway board allowed running of AC local EMU trains on the mainline between CSMT and Kalyan on an experimental basis, with ten trips to assess public response in these times.
According to reports, four AC trains are lying unused at the Central Railway Kurla car shed. Senior railway officials said they will be running 10 AC local train services, of which at least two services will be run during morning and evening peak hours.
Earlier this month, the CR had sent the railway board a proposal to introduce 10 CSMT-Kalyan AC services, of which three have been planned for rush hours. Besides, the Maharashtra government has also approved the proposal, said sources.
A CR official said that AC local services were introduced by the CR on the trans-harbour line earlier this year, but the lockdown completely changed these plans.
The city’s first air-conditioned train was introduced on December 25, 2017, and operates on Western Railway (WR) routes, between Churchgate and Virar. Moreover, on December 11, the Western Railway (WR) zone announced that it had decided to add three more AC trains in the Mumbai suburban services. These new AC locals will run on the Virar to Churchgate route. At present 4 locals are in service and the WR administration is planning how to run the remaining 3 locals.
Currently, local train services are being used by essential workers, women, and selected professionals with valid IDs.
Share
Tweet
