Commuters ditch first class for AC local trains

Mumbai: Mumbaiites are feeling the summer heat as an increasing number of suburban railway commuters are ditching the first class for air-conditioned (AC) local trains.

As per the latest figures between September last year and February, there has been a steady rise in the number of passengers travelling in AC locals on both Western (WR) and Central (CR) railway lines.

For instance, on WR, daily average AC local commuters stood at over 66,600 in September last year. It went up to 72,300 in the next month. While in November, the daily commuters using AC locals on WR surpassed 84,000.

“The winters were hot this year though there was some respite when temperatures slightly dropped in the end of 2022. Also, the people were in a vacation mood. So, we saw that in December and January there was a dip in the daily commuters travelling in AC locals which stood at around 77,000 and 79,000 respectively,” a WR official said.

But then in February, there was a sudden jump in the numbers. Close to 90,000 daily commuters started using the AC local trains every day. Just like the Metro rail network, the people have started to queue up from the starting point of these AC trains and board in a disciplined manner.

“There are barely any seats available, especially during peak hours. In fact, you just get sufficient space to stand in between the seats or around the corner of vestibule coaches,” Ashish Dwivedi, a resident of Virar, who commutes in an AC local for work, said.

According to the WR officials, in the entire month of February, close to 25 lakh passengers travelled in AC locals on an average. They are predicting the numbers to rise as the peak of summer creeps in. Another interesting trend that the WR officials saw is the downward trend of daily commuters using the first and second class.

As per the figures, 3.40 lakh commuters used the first class services in September 2022. This saw a dip in October at 2.59 lakh and again went upwards in November at 3.36 lakh.

“Since December last year, the dip in daily commuters travelling in first class continued. From 3.02 lakh to 3.21 lakh in January and 3.16 lakh in February. Interestingly, the number of daily commuters travelling in second class has been hovering around 24 lakh in the last six months,” another WR official said.

The CR that operates its AC locals only on the main line, is reporting a marginal rise in the number of daily commuters travelling in AC locals. According to figures provided by the CR authorities, in September 2022, there were 46,000-odd daily commuters, wherein each service saw around 915 commuters per service. The CR ferries more than 20,000 less commuters when compared to the daily commuters of WR.

“There is a need to increase the number of AC local trains. The demand for these trains are slowly improving,” Madhu Kotian, president, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh, said.

In October, November and December the number of daily commuters inside AC locals hovered around 39,000 t0 41,000. “The new year has seen an upward demand for AC locals. We assume that the early heat in January and February are the probable reasons and we expect these numbers to go up further,” a CR official said.

There were 43,500 and 47,600 commuters travelling in the AC local services in January and February, respectively. When compared with the WR, the daily footfall inside AC locals on CR was almost 75% less.