High price for poor services: Mumbaikars unhappy with AC local trains

Leaking roof shattered windows uncontrolled temperature and absence of ticket checkers Mumbaikars who are paying a high ticket fare for a better comfortable commute on AC locals are disappointed with the poor condition of the trains Yet despite this the numbers on AC locals have seen a 20fold jump in the past 11 days aloneThe fare of AC locals is 13 times higher than the firstclass ticket cost The train needs to be maintained There can be a train attendant to look after such minor matters Sometimes the temperature is too low and sometimes there isnrsquot enough cooling There is no one to redress the grievances immediatelyrdquo said commuter Ankush BadeA commuter said water was leaking from the AC vent it had pooled in the compartment making the floor slipperyMissing ticket checkersA resident from Dombivli Pratiksha Lonari said since the number of AC local services were increased ticket checkers have disappeared from the trainsldquoEarlier there used to be ticket checkers and police in every service but nowadays most of the times they are missing even during the rush hoursrdquo she saidlsquoCracks are riskyrsquoRangachari Iyer from Mulund said he saw three cracked windows on an AC local train ldquoThe cracks on the windows are close to the seats which could prove risky for the commutersrdquo Iyer addedCommuters aboard the newly introduced AC local train on Monday morning reported heavy water leak in a compartment The water accumulated making the floor slippery with people raising concerns of shortcircuit It should be noted that the AC trains do not run on Sundays for maintenancelsquoSlippery floorrsquoldquoWater started dripping while we were travelling in the fast AC local train that starts from Dombivli at 859 am The floor became slippery as water started accumulating on the floorrdquo S K Partho told midday He added that the leak was happening near the AC vent in the first half of the compartmentlsquoWater leak being probedrsquoA team from Central Railwayrsquos Mumbai division fixed the problem soon after the shed staff on the run attended to the trainldquoThe problem was immediately attended to and the reason for water dripping is being investigated A necessary action will be taken to avoid such a failure in the future AC local trains are the future of Mumbai commute and we are committed to provide best services to the commutersrdquo CRrsquos chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar saidIn 11 days Central Railway sees 20fold jump in commuter numbers on AC localsDespite criticism complaints and demands to restore a few old services Central Railwayrsquos AC locals have been gradually getting loyal commuters It has reported a jump by over 20 times in the figures recorded 11 days back At 60 trips CR Mumbai at present runs the highest number of AC local trains in any zone of the Indian RailwaysFortyfour of the services run on the main line eight each on the Panvel Harbour and Goregaon Harbour corridorsOn February 19 the first day of new AC services only 800 passengers took the trains on the main line the Panvel Harbour line and the Goregaon Harbour line generating a revenue of Rs 46034ldquoSince then the numbers have been increasing steadily Despite several complaints about the services loyal users of the AC train fleet have been quietly going up On March 2 the number of passengers on AC locals reached 17279 generating a revenue of R693963rdquo a senior CR official saidCR chief PRO Shivaji Sutar said ldquoAC local train services on all sectors are getting positive feedback and CR is in touch with all the stakeholders to suit it to commuter needsrdquo