Mumbai is finally going to receive its first AC local that will start operating from January 1. The announcement was made by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday. He also revealed that the trails have been going on successfully well and the trains will be operational from January 2018.
As revealed by Mr. Prabhu, the train will be operational on the Churchgate-Borivali route of Western Railway (WR). The fares are going to be either inspired by the Delhi Metro fare structure or will be 1.5 times the cost of the fare charged in the existing locals. The details are still not confirmed as of now.
Reportedly, the final phase of the project is going on and the approval from Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is likely to be received by December, this year. It’s worth noting that originally the plan for AC local for Mumbai was introduced with the 2012-2013 railway budget but it could only arrive in the city by April 2016.
Initially, the AC Local was being given to central Railway but after discovering some technical glitch, CR officials were not ready to use it. Later, the local was allocated to the Western Railway. However, a number of tests and trials have been conducted and now the technical issues have been sorted out.
Talking about the congestion of the local train network in the city, it carries more than 65 lakh passengers on a daily basis. Out of this, 35 lakh passengers commute through the Western Line. In such a situation, adding more locals to the Western Line will definitely be a big relief to the passengers.
Apart from the AC Locals, the minister also revealed that 370 escalators have been approved for the city. Besides, all the stations and trains in Mumbai are going to be equipped with CCTV cameras for ensuring better security.
