Soon, comfortable seats for second class rail passengers in Mumbai

Almost 40 lakh second-class train commuters on the Western and Central Railways can now look forward to a more comfortable ride.

Minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa on Wednesday assured Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan that the wooden seats will be replaced with foam cushion seats in all second-class railways compartments at the earliest.

The Union minister called on the CM, along with senior Central and Western railway officers, at Mantralaya to discuss various pending projects. When Chavan demanded cushioned seats for all railways compartments in Mumbai, Muniyappa promised the replacement with immediate effect.

Chavan told the minister that most of the 4 million commuters in Mumbai Metropolitan Region travel in second-class compartments every day and need to be given better services.

According to an officer, Chavan requested cushioned seats in the second class compartments.

The duo also discussed other projects that are ongoing in the city and suburbs. According to the release issued by the Railways, Chavan and Muniyappa discussed the status of the survey on the proposed Rotegaon-Puntamba railway route.

A survey was conducted by Central Railway in 2009 and the report had claimed that this project was financially not viable.  The Union minister has offered to share the cost of the Rs107 crore project with the state on a 50:50 basis.

He said that the project would be viable only if the state government shoulders 50% cost of the project. Chavan said he would consider the request.