Get ready for a cool ride, AC train to run from January 1

Mumbai: Union railway minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that the much-awaited air-conditioned (AC) local train would get operational in Mumbai on January 1, 2018. The minister made the announcement in Delhi while talking to media persons, making this the fifth deadline to make the train operational since the train arrived in the city in April 2016.

Responding to the queries by media persons regarding the AC train in Mumbai, Mr Goyal said, “We are conducting the trails of the AC train as of now and will launch it on January 1 of the coming year.”

The minister also said that he has directed the Mumbai railway officials to revise the prices of the elevated corridors between CST- Panvel and Bandra-Virar. In fact, The Asian Age was the first newspaper that had reported about the same in a report published on October 4 (Piyush Goyal tell Rlys to revise prices of elevated corridors). The minister had, in a closed-door meeting on September 30 compared the cost per kilometre of the elevated corridors, stating that they cost more than the per kilometre cost of the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The AC train has now become a controversial topic within the city due to the delays in the launch. Until now, there has been no official fare table but according to sources, the prices are likely to be closer to the fares of Delhi Metro. The train is likely to run from Dadar to Virar, as the bridges between Churchgate and Dadar are too low for the AC train, which is taller than the current trains that run on Western and Central railway lines.