Mumbai: The fares of the air-conditioned train are yet to be finalised but the delay regarding many last minute issues is making the Western Railway (WR) officials worried. Officials said that people are likely to book their railway pass for the air-conditioned train when the first service will be introduced. The Railway Board is yet to clarify what these fares are going to be and officials feel they will not be able to prepare a fare chart for the same, in time.
The much talked about air-conditioned train is undergoing trial and it has also been tentatively slated to be introduced on the WR at the end of September or early October, but officials feel that this lack of clarity has left them with a few unnecessary greases on their forehead. An official said, “Firstly the trails of the air-conditioned train in itself is a very daunting task. We are struggling to resolve the technical issues and on top of that, the Railway Board doesn’t seem to have grasped the urgency of the clarity on fares.”
When the train was under the purview of the Central Railway (CR), it too had asked the Railway Board on the clarity on fares, but when the train was handed over to the WR they stopped to pursue it.
While some reports have suggested that the fares of the air-conditioned train will be modelled after the Delhi Metro, some other reports have suggested that only daily tickets at Rs 70 would be provided at first with passes being introduced into the system when it stabilises.
Timeline of the project
- The train was brought to Mumbai in April of 2016.
- On December 2016, Western Railways asked for the train to be handed over to it.
- On May 24, 2017, Central Railways handed over the train to Western Railways.
- On May 26, 2017, the first trial of the air-conditioned train was conducted.
