Mumbai: The Western Railway’s (WR) air-conditioned (AC) train will run from Virar to Churchgate from today. So far, the train had been running between Borivali and Churchgate. There are 12 services in total and, during peak hours — i.e. 8 am to 11 am and 4 pm to 8 pm — the train towards Churchgate will depart from Virar at 10.22 am. It will then depart from Churchgate to Virar at 5.49 pm and, again, at 7.49 pm.
Officials have said that the WR has been seeing a good response so far, but the true test of the AC train will begin this week, when it will be officially launched from Virar. “We believe that this section will decide if the train is to survive and be as popular as we hope it would be,” the official said.
The Railway Board had sent the final approval of fares on the evening of December 24 to the WR, and had declared that the AC train would be running from Christmas Day from Borivali to Churchgate.
The fares decided were 1.2 times of the first class but this is only an introductory offer, and the amount will increase to 1.3 times in June this year. General manager A.K. Gupta said, “Commuters have been asked to send feedback about the train for six months. After this, new trains will be introduced after the changes are implemented based on this feedback.”
The Bombardier train, which first arrived in December 2016, underwent many changes such as the grab pole at the entrance, which was installed to provide handgrips for standing commuters.
The train departing from Virar will take exactly one hour and 24 minutes to reach Churchgate and will be available on the fast track.
