A/C on WR local trips, commuters fume

For the second consecutive Friday, hundreds of commuters on Western Railway’s (WR) 7.54 am Churchgate-bound AC local found themselves sweating it out after the air-conditioning went for a toss around 8.30 am, forcing them to pull the chain to halt the train.

The train also stopped at Andheri station for 20 minutes. Result: Temperatures in the train compartments soared to 36 degrees Celsius, stifling the commuters and causing tempers to run high. However, WR claimed that there was a technical problem on three coaches of the AC local, as a result of which, further services of this train were being cancelled.

However, WR Chief Public Relations Officer Ravindra Bhakar said that services were resumed at 5.49 pm from Churchgate after the problem had been fixed.

“Ever since the local train left Borivali, we found that the coach was not cool enough. Initially we thought that the AC would soon kick in. But even after a few stations had passed, there was no cooling and, coupled with the lack of ventilation, we found ourselves sweating profusely.

When it became unbearable, we pulled the chain and made the local stop,” said commuter Rajesh Katre.

At Andheri, irate commuters got into an argument with the Railway Protection Force personnel and railway authorities and vented their ire through Twitter.

“AC local 7.54 am from Borivali to Churchgate, AC not working, we complained to the motorman twice but matter still not resolved, we all are feeling suffocated, train is about to reach Andheri,” tweeted commuter Mayur Vaniya.

A WR official tweeted back that due to technical glitches in some coaches, the train would not operate until repairs were complete. “The train has been taken to the Mahalaxmi car shed and the issue is being addressed. Services will resume once the problem is rectified. Inconvenience to commuters is highly regretted, please,” said a WR official.

Last Friday, WR had abruptly cancelled the AC train service for maintenance work.