Low patronage forces railway authorities to cancel AC train service between Mumbai and Madgaon; Western Railway likely to receive it
Bookings for the double-decker express train will be suspended starting mid-February
Two years after the Central Railway first launched the iconic double-decker train between Mumbai and Madgaon, it has decided to suspend the service due to low patronage. The train, which was introduced in December 2015, was the only AC double-decker train with the CR, and plied on the scenic Konkan Railway route. A senior CR official, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that bookings for the train, which ran thrice a week, would be suspended starting mid-February.
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The Tejas Express, which plies between Mumbai and Karmali, will replace the time slot of the double-decker, the official confirmed. Sources said that divisional officials might give the train to the Western Railway, due to high demand there. The 11085/11086 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Madgaon AC double-decker express had eight AC chair cars and two end on generation (EOG) cars. The express train covered a distance of 750 km within 12 hours.
The inaugural service of this tri-weekly train had been flagged off by the then Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. The train used to leave LTT, Kurla at 5.30am and reached Goa at 4.30 pm. However, officials said the train barely managed to have 20 to 40 seats booked during the off season. The double-decker's failure on the Mumbai-Goa sector has been attributed to the odd departure timing and route. "Unlike the double-decker, which departed from LTT, Tejas Express departs from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)," said an official.
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