Following the conversion of a Titwala-CST general local train into an AC local train, the commuters taking the general local train at 8.33am from Titwala station are not pleased. They have demanded the normal local train to be reinstated rather than the AC train.
A signature campaign was organised by Kalyan Karjat Kasara Railway Passengers Association on Wednesday with hundreds participating.
The commuters claimed that the AC local goes empty as most cannot afford the fare and the regular commuters have to wait for almost half-an-hour for the next local. Around 400 commuters registered their signatures in the campaign initiated by the association.
“As the 8.33 am general local train is now changed to an AC train, we have to wait for the next one, which is at 8.53am, by which time the entire station is jam packed and hardly a few get to board it. The rest have no option but to wait longer. Hardly anyone takes the AC train,” said Santosh Shelke, 35, who used to board the 8.33 am local train to reach Thane for work daily.
Commuters complained of overcrowding at the station due to the change in train, which also lead to fights among them.
“Most used to take the 8.33am local train as it was convenient to reach their work place. Since it has changed to AC, people are also reaching their workplace late as they are not able to board the next train that is heavily crowded,” said Sangeeta Mishra, 28, another commuter who travels to Mumbai for work.
“Either the Railways should introduce more general local trains or cancel the AC local at 8.33am and stick to the general train for this particular time,” said Vijay Deshekar, vice-president, Kalyan Karjat Kasara Passengers Association.
Shyam Ubale, general secretary of the association, said that they have informed the Railways to not disturb the existing general local services while introducing the AC locals.
Central Railway chief PRO, Shivaji Sutar, said, “Recently, we have added 36 new locals (34 AC and 2 non-AC) on the main line including the Titwala section. Considering the demand, the Ministry has recently announced AC local fare reduction by 50% and also non-AC first-class fare reduction by almost 40%.
“We have spoken with the people and also the passenger associations in the section regarding introduction of AC locals. There is a huge demand for AC locals after reduction in fare and also due to heat and humidity. To meet the increasing demand on the mainline, especially during peak hours, we have withdrawn AC rake from harbour line (where we were getting low response as compared to the mainline) and started 12 AC services on mainline for the benefit of passengers.”
