Mumbai: Responding to rising commuter demand, Western Railway (WR) will introduce 13 additional air-conditioned (AC) local train services on its suburban network starting Wednesday.
With this expansion, the total number of AC services on weekdays will cross the 100 mark, increasing from 96 to 109. On weekends, too, the count will rise from 52 to 65.
Vineet Abhishek, chief public relations officer of WR, said the growing popularity of AC local trains led to this initiative, aimed at reducing crowding and enhancing passenger comfort. The new services will replace 13 existing non-AC 12-car services, ensuring the total number of daily suburban services stays constant at 1,406.
The first of the newly added AC services will depart from Churchgate at 12:34pm on Wednesday. Regular operations will follow as per the revised timetable.
Of the 13 new services, six will operate in the up direction towards Churchgate and seven in the down direction from Churchgate. In the up direction, two trains each will run between Virar-Churchgate and Bhayander-Churchgate, with one service each connecting Virar-Bandra and Bhayander-Andheri. In the down direction, two services will run from Churchgate to Virar, and one each from Churchgate to Bhayandar, Andheri to Virar, Bandra to Bhayander, Mahalaxmi to Borivali, and Borivali to Bhayander. Currently, around 1.2 lakh commuters—4% of WR’s daily ridership of 31 lakh—opt for AC local trains. — Manthan K Mehta