The celebrations for the first air-conditioned local train, set to operate on the trans-harbour line beginning April 16, may have already begun, but the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) isn’t losing track of the bigger picture. The MRVC, a joint venture of the state government and the Indian Railways, which is responsible for the improvement of infrastructure of the Mumbai suburban railway system, has cautioned that a fare hike is the only way to sustain future projects and tide over mounting losses.

Few hikes have been enforced over the past decade to cushion the losses. Representational pic