The decision was made by the railway bureau; after consulting with officials of the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), the Midwest Railways, the highest body of all regional railways on Tuesday. Local train fares may also be reduced and will be based on the subway fare structure. According to information, the Ministry of Railways has also shelved the plan to run semi-interchange slow trains (among which, in addition to the current first- and second-class passenger trains, there will be several interchange passenger trains connected to local trains). “We will procure all fully exchanged local trains for the Mumbai suburban railway network under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP),” said Ravi Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of MRVC. In the next few days, MRVC will purchase 283 new AC local trains. Railway officials said that the Ministry of Railways has approved the purchase of AC local trains, but has not yet determined a time frame. Currently, 9 AC trains in Mumbai operate on the suburban network. However, since the fare is even higher than the first-class car and train schedule, the response of commuters is tepid. The railway authorities have planned a semi-AC train consisting of the first section, the second section and AC carriages to solve the problem of low frequency. However, the railway bureau is now planning to convert the entire train fleet into exchange trains. A senior railway official said: “The same time frame has not yet been determined, but it has been decided that every new local train purchased now for the Mumbai suburban train network will be an AC train.” As far as the fares of these trains are concerned, the railway bureau is studying the fare structure of the subways operating in Delhi and Mumbai. “The fare structure of suburban AC local trains will be based on the subway fare structure of the Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority (MMRDA) or the Delhi Metro Corporation (DMRC). MRVC had suggested that the fare structure of AC local trains should be the same as those of Mumbai and Delhi. Quite,” the official said. According to reports, the railway’s semi-communication slow train plan has also been shelved. “The implementation of the semi-communication slow train involves many technical issues and may not be feasible. Discussions with the Ministry of Railways and the project were shelved.” A senior official who attended the meeting said.

News Source: Hindustan Times