The goal is to eliminate the hassle of purchasing separate tickets at connecting stations.
Bombay: A pass has been offered which allows commuters to travel on the Western, Central and Harbor lines for Rs 500 per month, albeit in second class. The fare proposal, which was made by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), also suggests that monthly first class passes for all routes should cost Rs 1,500.
Railway officials said they proposed this fare structure keeping in mind that the commuter does not have a fixed office and must take the train on two or more lines.
Senior MRVC officials made a presentation to members of the Railway Commission in November. Although nothing has been finalized yet, officials believe the tariff restructuring is feasible. One official said: “This is a very practical suggestion and a lot of people are going to adopt it because it is very practical and could even lead to a slight increase in our ticketing revenue.”
The MRVC was created exclusively to deal with the problems of Mumbai’s suburban railroad, where the passenger density is massive.
The official explained that the proposal on all routes was suggested to eliminate the hassle of getting off at connecting stations like Kurla or Dadar and buying a separate ticket after the railways shut down the extension system. He said: “Earlier, if you had a pass from Kalyan to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) but had to go to Andheri one day, you would have an extension from Dadar. But now you are asked to pay the full amount. He further added, “And the physical effort of going and taking a separate ticket when you’re in a rush is also cumbersome.”
MRVC Managing Director Prabhat Sahai said, “The proposal has been made to the board, but we have not yet heard from whether it is being considered.”
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