AC Local: The bare divergence between the planners and commuters
Introduction of AC locals by the Centeal and Western Railway at the cost of the normal non-AC locals services is indicative of the misplaced appreciation of the real life facts of Mumbai.
The thing which ails the administration is the perpetuation of the feudalism in railway services.
ItтАЩs difficult to ascertain the pain of commuters who mostly belong to lower to middle socioeconomic classes and their voices are never heard.
The paying capacity of such class is limited.
The ordinary commuters who earn on an average of 15-20 thousand with four-five mouths to feed and five-six commuting trips everyday, cannot spend about Rs 1000-1500 on AC ticket passes.
And here lies the bare divergence between the planners and commuters.
Commuters want the trains to run right time, regular, clean, ventilated and a comfortable standing position during peak hours.
Air-conditioning requirement is of a small elite commuters and that can be done by placing one AC unit in middle coach (may be sixth from front) and reducing equivalent first class units elsewhere in train.
To be continued…..
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