Mumbai AC Local Ran Its 1st Trip Yesterday And The Sky High Fares Have Twitter Disappointed

Mumbai is a city that never sleeps and a big part of that hustle-bustle are the local trains in the city which are the city’s lifeline. These locals are availed by commuters on a daily basis and we just got a new addition to them!

While the country bathed in the holiday spirit, the Government decided to play ‘Santa Claus’ and flagged off the first AC local train in Mumbai. The local ran its maiden journey from Borivali to Churchgate at 10:33 am yesterday.

First AC Local ran on its maiden run today from Borivali on 25th December, 2017 among cheers from the public. A long cherished dream come true! Suburban services have witnessed a dawn of new era of cool comfort pic.twitter.com/hkZKwRVjUh

— Western Railway (@WesternRly) December 25, 2017

While the first coaches were occupied by dignitaries and media persons, the common man also experienced the inaugural ride. Although the average response of the people was enthusiastic, the inauguration met with a lot of confusion as well.

By the way, the fare for a single journey in the AC local from Borivali to Churchgate (34 km) is ₹165 while, a normal journey fare is ₹15 for second class and ₹140 for first class.

Naturally, social media was bustling with people giving their two cents on the inauguration. Some welcomed the addition to the city’s lifeline with open arms, while some were a little sceptic about it.

1. Hooray!

This is awesome and a great Christmas gift … and alters the EMU benchmark !

— Revathy Ashok (@RevathyAshok) December 25, 2017

2. Congratulating the Government.

https://twitter.com/RamashishRaiBJP/status/944963340937322497

3. Then came the concern with the fares…

If metro rail from Versova to Ghatkopar is 11.5 km and the fare is Rs 40, Built with private and public partnership.Why #MumbaiACLocal managed by the government. For 10 km, the ticket rate is Rs 65 plus? Being a government service, it should be cheaper than the metro

— Madhusudan Thakkar (@madhusudan41) December 26, 2017

4. Confusion… confusion!

Is the 1st class pass valid for AC local for now? Will the passes for both be different in the future or if you buy for AC local, it'll be valid for 1st class? #mumbai #westernrailway

— Mehul Ved (@mehulved) December 26, 2017

5. Arey, AC ka pata kaise chalega?

Winter mein hi AC train ko launch karna tha?..

— Kaddu Karela (@Kaddu_Karela) December 25, 2017

6. Uh-oh!

So who will be the 1st one to litter the #MumbaiAClocal

— Amit Malvekar (@Malvekar1) December 26, 2017

7. Can the common man really afford it?

Looking at the Mumbai AC locals fare, is it really for the locals?!#mumbaiaclocal

— Nilima Parmar (@nilima_parmar) December 25, 2017

8. In case, you were wondering…

9. The Central Railway commuters felt a little left out…

What abt CR , we are always the neglated one

— Mr.India (@gentlemaniish) December 24, 2017

10. We hope so too!

Hope ppl maintain it n mot destroy it with handbills n graffiti

— BSS (@DGTLSan) December 25, 2017

11. Just when you thought it isn’t too bad.

For now #mumbaiaclocal seems to be over-hyped. Inappropriate timings, pathetic frequency & insufficient stopovers. And for every 5 days of operations, they need 2 days of maintenance. In short #WTF

— Unaware Trader (@UnawareTrader) December 25, 2017

Another Twitter user, Prathamesh, shared a detailed review of the AC local. Honestly, after looking at the review, we are not sure how to react regarding the new addition.

1. He did a pretty good job of it.

5. @WesternRly unable to enforce ticketless travel, at least on day 1
6. Leisurely halt at all stations followed by departure after some 10 secs post door closure
7. Blowers are closed when doors open at some stations
8. Ride quality is top notch with minimal jerks n noise

— Prathamesh (@patkini) December 25, 2017

2. No more bustling between seats.

Some more..
9. WR should have added FC quality cushioned seats as compared the current seats similar to the BT rakes in 2nd class
10. Leg room is just fabulous, whereby ppl can comfortably stand in between seats
11. Unlike metro, no announcement on which side the door will open

— Prathamesh (@patkini) December 25, 2017

From no separators for ladies compartments to high fares, the hiccups encountered by the modern train did not seem to end. But, there is no denying that it is a historical day. We hope as time passes, the issues will be resolved and the rides will be much smoother for daily commuters.