Central Railway mulling on idea to allow non-AC pass holders on AC local for single journey

Commuters in an AC local train, in Thane. Pic/SatejShinde

Should pass holders of general suburban trains be allowed to take a single journey on AC locals by paying the difference in fare? Central Railway is mulling on the idea, and will send a proposal to the rail board.

As one more AC local train is set to be inducted into service on its main line, Central Railway (CR) is working on an idea for "easy access to all".

"The lowering of the fare has brought about a positive difference and there is more demand for AC trains now. One more AC train is expected to arrive on CR and going by passenger feedback and demand graphs, it will be put to use on the main line," CR General Manager Anil Kumar Lahoti told mid-day.

"A passenger with a non-AC season ticket has already paid for a period of 30 days. When the passenger wants to take the AC local for a single journey, he should be able to do so by paying the difference in the fares of non-AC single journey and AC single journey tickets. We are trying to work on some formula on this and will send a proposal to the railway board. We will have to see if we can work this out," he said.

In May, 9,63,627 passengers travelled by air-conditioned local operated by CR (with a daily average of 31,085 passengers), which is 65 per cent more than those travelling in April 2022. On CR, the sale of single-journey card tickets of AC local trains increased by 305 per cent in May as compared to April 2022.

The fares of AC tickets have been substantially reduced with effect from May 5, 2022. With this reduction, the minimum single-journey ticket up to 10 km now costs Rs 35 only.

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9,63,627
In May, passengers travelled by air-conditioned local