Chaos at Bhayander station as commuters protest conversion of regular Mumbai local train to AC service

Western Railway from last Wednesday had increased the number of AC local services

Tempers ran high as commuters in large numbers gathered at the station manager's cabin at Bhayander station on Monday morning to protest against the conversion of the regular 8:24 am Bhayander-Churchgate local train into AC service. The problem has been simmering since the conversion of the train last week.

The Western Railway from last Wednesday had increased the number of AC local services over the Mumbai Suburban section replacing existing non-AC services with AC. The 8:24 am regular Bhayander local has been heavily patronised by those wanting to be at Churchgate by 10 am.

"The conversion of it into AC has led to problems as regular commuters would now have to skip it. This is unfair and it collapses our timetable," Prakash Almora, a regular commuter said.

"Bhayander 8:24 am local train passengers have protested fiercely against converting the morning local trains into AC. Most of the trains have been converted into AC from Bhayander due to which passengers are hassled. How will a poor man be able to travel with a pass of Rs. 200 for Rs. 2,600?" Ganesh Prasad Pandey, another commuter said.

With the introduction of these 13 new AC services, the total number of AC services has now increased from 96 to 109 on Weekdays and from 52 to 65 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Political protest:

"The protests were not huge. There were 30-40 Shiv Sena UBT activists and just 4-5 passengers," a Western Railway spokesperson said.