As the temperature continues to soar in Mumbai, more and more people are now turning to AC locals for some respite. In fact, Western Railway recorded the highest-ever daily footfall inside AC locals on May 6 with more than 2.48 lakh commuters. They have even seen record-breaking sales of season tickets this month. According to officials, the sales of season tickets are up by 30%, as compared to last year during this period.
Mumbai AC Locals Sees A Surge In Footfall Amid Rising Temperatures
To get some respite from the sweltering heat, Mumbaikars are turning to AC locals this season. According to the Western Railway (WR), more than 2.48 lakh commuters flocked Mumbai’s air-conditioned local trains on May 6. It was the highest-ever daily footfall inside AC locals! They even recorded a sale of 32,016 tickets. Similarly, the Central Railway (CR) saw 1.41 lakh commuters inside AC locals with 18,932 tickets sold.
Railway officials agreed to the growing demand of AC locals in Mumbai and mentioned how the limited number of AC rakes is an issue right now. As for now, 96 services of Western Railway AC locals are operational with eight rakes on the Churchgate-Virar route on weekdays. For Central Railways, there are 66 AC train services operational with six rakes on the CSMT-Kalyan corridor.
May has seen a significant increase in footfall in WR AC coaches. As per data, from May 1, around 1.53 lakh commuters have travelled by AC locals on the Virar-Churchgate route every day. This is a massive increase from the 1.07 lakh daily commuters in all of May last year. Central Railway has also seen a sharp increase in AC local commuters. According to the official numbers, an average of 91,000 commuters have travelled in CR’s AC train service every day since May 1. The average commuter number last year around this time was 58,150.
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Record-Breaking Sales Of AC Season Tickets
The sale of season tickets for Mumbai AC locals has also gone up this year. According to railway officials, they have issued 1.61 lakh tickets in the last month. This is 30% more than last year. In fact, they recorded the highest single-day sales since the launch of AC Locals on May 6. They issued 3,737 season tickets on a single day.
This unbearable weather surely calls for comfortable travel in an AC local! Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments.
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikipedia
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