Will Mumbai’s AC locals get London-like fare system?

Railways has assured that the fares of AC locals will be lowered

Railway officials, in an internal meeting held recently, discussed lowering the AC train fares. One of the key proposals discussed was having Metro-like fare slabs, ranging between Rs 10 and Rs 20. Another key option put forth was a fare structure that divides Mumbai railway into zones, just like that of London, with fares changing only when one changes the zone.

"Under the zone system, the fare will remain unchanged irrespective of the distance travelled within a zone. The fare will rise only when the zone is changed. The idea, originally conceived for the entire Mumbai Suburban railway, has been tweaked to restrict it to AC locals," a divisional official said. As per the basic details available, for AC trains, the monthly season ticket and other passes will remain the same as the present. The changes will reflect on daily tickets only.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, at a meeting on October 12, 2021, had agreed to lower the fares. After a detailed meeting with divisional railway officials and Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), it had been agreed upon that the AC local single journey ticket fare will be brought at par with the reduced fares. The nitty-gritty of the fare structure and slabs are in the final stage of discussion and a decision on this is still awaited.