Mumbai's AC Local Is Here. Hop On For A 'Chilled' Experience

Mumbai: Mumbai need not sweat anymore as the financial capital of India finally gets its long-awaited AC local. The city can now board the brand new air-conditioned coaches of the Mumbai local for a chilled ride. In its debut week, the Mumbai AC local, will ferry passengers from Churchgate to Borivali, and from Churchgate to Virar from next week onwards. Thousands of excited commuters crowded the stations along the line to be among the first ones to hop on the swanky local, the city's lifeline.

The train will run on the Borivali-Churchgate section of the Mumbai suburban line under Western Railway (WR), an official statement said. The WR conducted about 65 trial runs of the train before starting its services today.
 The full AC air-suspension coaches will carry nearly 6,000 commuters per rake. Just like the Metro trains, these coaches will also have automatic door opening-closing system. LED lights, Emergency Talk Back system between commuters and guard besides a public address system, advanced GPS-based passenger information system, air-tight vestibules inter-connecting all 12 coaches and other safety features are among its highlights.
 The Rs 54-crore Mumbai AC local has been described as "historical" for the suburban train network, which started in 1867 when the first local train was hauled by a steam engine.The AC train will replace 12 existing non-air conditioned services - six services in up and six in down direction. The services will be available on weekdays only and won't operate on Saturdays and Sundays to keep them free for maintenance purposes.
 Eight of the services will run as fast locals between Churchgate and Virar, stopping only at major stations like Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra, Andheri, Borivali, Bhayander and Vasai Road in both directions. Three fast services will run between Churchgate and Borivali stopping at Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra and Andheri stations in both directions. One slow service will operate between Mahalaxmi and Borivali.
 The base fare of the single journey of the Mumbai AC local will be 1.3 times of the base fare of the existing fare for a single journey by first class. However, passengers will be charged 1.2 times the first class ticket cost in the initial six months.

Unlike regular local trains, the AC service will have a special weekly and fortnightly season ticket. A weekly pass will cost anything between Rs 285 till Mahalaxmi and Rs 945 till Andheri going all the way up to Rs 1,070 till Virar. The fortnightly season ticket starts at Rs 430 going up to Rs 1,555 till Virar.

The monthly pass will cost between Rs 570 and Rs 820 (till Bandra) to Rs 1,240 (till Andheri) to Rs 1,640 (till Borivali), and Rs 2,040 till Virar.