In good news, commuters who travel on the trans-harbour railway line in Mumbai will soon be able to travel in air-conditioned local trains. In a recently made announcement, the Central Railway (CR) said that it is likely to introduce the first AC local for Thane-Panvel-Vashi route where nearly four lakh people travel, on a daily basis.
This comes after a review meeting was chaired by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday along with Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), Kokan Railway, Indian Rail Catering Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL).
A senior official who was in the review meeting informed that the issue of introducing AC local on central railway’s trans-harbour line was discussed in detail. If the response on the trans-harbour route is positive, the AC locals will be introduced in other corridors as well, sources informed. Officials also discussed that out of the 12 trains which operate on the trans-harbour route, one of the trains will be wholly transformed into an AC local train. However, in order to compensate for the commuter who travel in the general compartment, the central railways will replace a first-class compartment on 11 trains with a second class one.
Earlier, the CR intended to introduce AC local on the central and harbour railway lines. However, on both the lines, there are British-era constructed bridges and the train is ‘too tall’ to pass under them.
Also Read - Railway To Start Direct Local Service Between Panvel, Goregaon
The height of AC local is over the permissible limit of 4.270 meters. That’s why the first AC local was transferred on the Western railway line. The railway officials have been asked to approach Integral Coach Factory (ICF) which is constructing the AC local trains to keep in mind the height of the bridges on CR and Harbour line while constructing the trains.
Share
Tweet
