On the occasion of the 172nd anniversary of the Indian Railways on Wednesday, Central Railway (CR) rolled out 14 new air-conditioned local train services on its Mumbai main line, offering much-needed relief to commuters amid the summer heat, reported PTI.
According to Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway, seven out of the 14 newly introduced AC services were operated by the afternoon, while the remaining trains are scheduled to run later in the day.
As per PTI, the new services replaced existing non-AC services. With this, the number of AC services on the CR`s main line rose to 80 from 66.
The replacement of ordinary non-AC services by AC services, especially during peak morning and evening hours, had caused resentment among a section of commuters in the past, as the fare of these trains is much higher.
The new AC local services will be operated from Monday to Saturday, reported PTI.
Every day, the CR operates a total of 1,810 suburban services and ferries more than 35 lakh commuters on its Main, Harbour, Trans-Harbour and Belapur-Uran suburban lines.
The first passenger train in India ran on this day 172 years ago from Bori Bunder (present-day Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai) to Thane.
On the occasion, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took to X and wrote, “The railway in India began 172 years ago, on April 16, 1853. It was a historic day for Mumbai. A public holiday was declared to mark the occasion. That day, at exactly 3:35 PM, with a 21-gun salute, a train with 14 carriages departed from Bori Bunder to Thane for the first time, carrying 400 passengers on board. The train was pulled by three engines named ‘Sindh,’ ‘Sultan,’ and ‘Sahib.’ It travelled the 34-kilometre journey in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Since then, Indian Railways has remained dedicated to serving the nation.”
172 वर्ष पहले भारत में रेल (Rail) की शुरुआत 16 अप्रैल 1853 को हुई। मुम्बई में वह दिन ऐतिहासिक था। उस दिन वहाँ सार्वजनिक अवकाश घोषित कर दिया गया था। उस दिन दोपहर तीन बजकर पैंतीस मिनट पर 21 तोपों की सलामी के साथ बोरीबंदर से ठाणे के लिए पहली बार 14 डिब्बों की एक ट्रेन रवाना हुई थी।… pic.twitter.com/IFEJupTz3W
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) April 16, 2025
(With PTI inputs)
