If you want to travel on board an empty local during the rush hour, Mumbai’s air-conditioned train is for you. Even on crowded days, the AC locals run almost empty, which is an indicator that there is low acceptance to the service. The Railways wants to promote it further and have all-AC locals on the Mumbai Suburban network, but a formal decision on reducing the fare is yet to come.

Central Railway plans to introduce more AC services soon on the new lines, and trains are set to arrive from the manufacturers. The growth in AC locals is slow, and the Railways has offered all possible sops in the given limitations to make the train attractive, but they do not seem to be working.