Indian Railway gifts Air-conditioned local trains first time in country for Mumbaikars
Mumbai: As the train adorned with flowers moved slowly towards Platform Number 9 at the Borivali station in Mumbai, on Christmas morning, a standing ovation was raised. Hundreds of people showed up to witness the event: 164 years after the first train of the city and India was inaugurated, the Bombay railway system launched its first air conditioning service at 10.32 a.m. of Monday. In a city of vanished residents, the debut race of the air-conditioned train triggered an unusual enthusiasm. Dozens of people climbed into the cold confines of the compartments showing broad smiles and clicking on selfies. They inspected the automatic doors, touched the thick glass windows, and marveled at the fact that passengers could walk from one compartment to another through the lobbies between the wagons, as on long-distance trains. It is clear that the 7.5 million travelers in this city of 20 million traveling on the local train every weekday could do so with a break. At rush hour, 4,500 mumbaikars...