Come October, AC local may halt at three South Mumbai stations

There is good news for the three-lakh odd Western Railway commuters, particularly from the business community who commute daily to south Mumbai. The Western Railway (WR) is mulling the suggestion of halting the air-conditioned (AC) local at Marine Lines, Charni Road and Grant Road stations from October. This was discussed at a meeting held between the WR authorities and passenger associations as part of the Suburban Rail Users Consultative Committee (SRUCC).

Currently, the AC local does not halt at any station between Mumbai Central and Churchgate. There are several commuters, who need to disembark at Marine Lines, Charni Road and Grant Road as they work in Kalbadevi, Bhuleshwar, Lamington Road, Zaveri Bazaar areas.

"The WR authorities have assured us that they would make provision for AC local train halts from October when new train timetable is scheduled," said V Lodha, SRUCC member.

Currently, 1300 people travel in a single AC local. It runs 12 services per day between Churchgate and Virar. It halts for 45 seconds. Till date, 22 lakh plus commuters have travelled in it.