Commuters question Central Railway’s decision to not run AC trains on Sundays, public holidays

Many commuters say they are forced to take other trains. File pic

Why don't Central Railway's AC trains ply on national holidays and Sundays like those of the Western Railways? Are they only for government and bank employees? Regular AC train commuters have questioned the CR's logic behind the AC train services and pushed for premium trains even on Sundays and holidays.

"Today again there was a Sunday timetable. Is CR running services only for railways' staff, bankers and government offices? It is the private sector commuters that buy the passes and they mostly work on bank holidays too, and are left stranded with other crowded locals and delays. What is the use of such a service?" commuter Raj Narayan said.

"Only government and bank employees have holidays but most of the rest have to go to work. What's the logic behind Central Railway's time table for AC locals? We are paying much higher than usual, do we deserve this? We request the railway ministry to think about this. Why are we not able to use the services on Sunday when we are paying so much premium? We should get the service and on a holiday in fact, the train's frequency should increase so that more people can use it. Situations have changed and age-old practices should be changed too," said another commuter, Rushabh Kenia.

Commuters said if the Western Railway is able to run trains on Sundays and holidays, why can't the CR?

‘An old practice'

The Railways explained that the Sunday timetable is an age-old practice for staff adjustments and other reasons like maintenance of trains and assets which is very important. "Central Railway is geographically a larger system. It is important to note that both Central and Western Railway have four trains in service and with four trains each, CR runs 60 services while WR runs 28 services (including harbour line), smartly alternating trains to give them adequate maintenance time," an official explained.

Central Railway chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said, "We have mentioned while issuing a notification that AC locals will run on all days except Sunday and Holidays."

No train, so why are tickets available!

Pointing out a major flaw in the ticketing system, a commuter from Dombivli said he felt cheated. "UTS ticket booking is available on the mobile phone. So, I booked a ticket and reached the station only to find out that the air-conditioned trains don't work on public holidays. Money spent on UTS tickets cannot be refunded as tickets cannot be cancelled. If no service is available on holidays, how is the ticket issued for that day?" he asked.