Commuters gave Mumbai’s first air-conditioned suburban train a thumbs-up on Monday, with many ready to trade the comfort of their cars once the frequency of the new service is increased with additional rakes.
“This is faster and cheaper than taking an Uber or Ola,” said Prajakta Hegde, who had come along with her grandparents Vinayak and Sarojini Kamat. “It’s been years since I have travelled in a train. This service is a lot more comfortable than App-based cab services. And over the last few years that has been the mainstay of our travel,” said Mr. Kamat. He, however, said that a rod in the middle of the entrance to the coaches was essential for senior citizens to board and leave the train and that it should be added.
With the AC Local Fast Service having fewer stops — it will halt only at Andheri, Dadar and Mumbai Central — passengers agreed that it would be safer, faster and more comfortable than travelling by car.
Santosh Konkati, 41, travelling from Ghatkopar to Borivali, had boarded the train at Dadar. “I normally take the metro to go to Borivali. I decided to come via Dadar since it’s a holiday only to find a metro here,” he said. Many of the passengers hoped that the railways would make enough money from the service for it to be sustainable.
“The service should stop at areas where there are a lot of offices such as the stations between Mumbai Central and Churchgate and even Elphinstone Road and Lower Parel,” suggested Uday Matekar, who works at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). “Else it may become like the monorail does not have many takers.”
