Maharashtra: Two Western Railway express trains to halt at Palghar again

Passengers welcome the trains amid fanfare, at Palghar station

Commuters from Palghar have finally won their fight to get trains to halt at the station. Western Railway this week restored halts of two key trains on an experimental basis for a period of six months.

mid-day had earlier reported on the issue and the discontent among the passengers.

Dahanu Vaitarna Pravasi Sevabhavi Sanstha, which had been pushing for reinstating halts, welcomed WR's decision. "We had met lots of authorities in the past four years. Western Railway officials had removed the stoppage at Palghar due to lack of revenue and patronage," association member Himanshu Vartak said.

Also read: Western Railway to run 60 trips of 6 pairs of Ganpati special trains

"For the convenience of passengers, train no 12471/12472 Bandra Terminus-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Swaraj Superfast Express has been provided with additional halt at Palghar station with effect from July 14 and July 12, respectively. Train no 12471 which starts from Bandra will arrive at Palghar at 12.08 pm and depart at 12.10 pm. Similarly, Bandra-bound train no. 12472 will arrive at Palghar at 2.28 pm and depart at 2.30 pm," said Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer, WR.

He added, "Train no. 20484/20483 Dadar-Bhagat Ki Kothi Superfast Express has also been provided a halt at Palghar station. Train no. 20484 from Dadar will arrive at Palghar at 4.12 pm and depart at 4.14 pm. Similarly, Train No 20483 from Bhagat Ki Kothi will arrive at Palghar at 10.51 am and depart at 10.53 am."

"Palghar is a district headquarters. We put in a lot of effort to get the halts. We welcome the trains," Vartak said.