500 AC services to be on track by 2019 end

Mumbai: Rail commuters will have around 500 air-conditioned (AC) services to choose from by the end of 2019. Railway officials said that around 40 air-conditioned rakes, which will cost Rs 80 crore each, will be ordered by the railway officials in January, after the launch of the first AC train on New Year’s day.

Officials said that the first 10 trains would come to the city by the end of 2018, while the remaining will be delivered by the end of 2019.

These rakes will be brought in with the help of the Railway Board, which will be making a special allocation in the union budget in February.

Western Railway (WR), which currently has possession of the single 12-coach AC rake, will be drawing up a procurement plan with the Railway Board in Delhi and the manufacturer, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai and defining a time line for the release of the rakes.

A WR official said, “The Railway Board, WR and the ICF will be sitting down and deciding how the trains will be delivered,” he said.

But sources have said the performance of the current AC train will play a vital role in the procurement.

According to another official, “The one big hurdle we have to cross is the launching of this one train on New Year’s as announced by railway minister Piyush Goyal.”   

It is expected that one 12-coach rake will be able to produce anywhere between 11 to 12 services a day and 40 rakes will produce anywhere between 450 to 500 services in a day.