Central Railway: Comfy seating cuts carrying capacity

The new coaches introduced by Central Railway for the Neral-Matheran railway line seems to have shrunk the space for passengers.

They have lesser number of seats than the old coaches. This means that the carrying capacity of the train has reduced and the waiting list has grown longer.

There  were 30 seats in the second-class compartment in the old coaches. The new coaches have 24, a reduction of six seats a coach — which means about 30 passengers less per five-coach train. The old coaches had a capacity of 24 seats in the first-class compartment. The new ones have 20 seats.

Tourists are not too happy about the new coaches having less space.

“There is always a problem of getting tickets for this popular train and cutting down the number of seats will limit the number of passengers,” said Adwait Roshan, a passenger at Neral station.

“The railways should think of increasing accommodation. There are a limited number of trains to Matheran and cutting down the existing capacity will affect commuters who will now move to other modes like cabs and private vehicles,” said Rama Krishnan, an architect on vacation at the hill station.

Sumeet Sharma, chief works manager of Parel workshop, who coordinated the manufacture of new coaches, said the seats have been cut down but comfort levels have gone up.

“Yes, there has been reduction in seats but we have added features like comfortable seats, more leg space and better aesthetic design. Tourists will have a comfortable travel,’’ he said.