RailEnquiry

Passengers lose cool as AC 'fails' on Ajmer train
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MUMBAI : Passengers traveling to Ajmer from Mumbai, underwent an ordeal due to a non-functional AC in two three-tier coaches of the Bandra Terminus-Ajmer Urs special on Saturday morning. The train, which departed Bandra at 7.55am, was detained at Borivli station by passengers who got off the train as soon as it reached Borivli, at around 8.30am. The irate passengers demanded replacement of the coaches.

One of the passengers, Abidullah Khan (43), said, "The AC system was not working since the time the train left Bandra. The coach attendant told us that the cooling would increase as the train gathered speed, but there was no change in temperature even after the train pulled into Borivli."

But railway authorities said that the there was no major problem.

Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer , WR, said, "Cooling improves as the train gains speed. An additional coach at Valsad also helped us clear wait listed passengers."

Khan said, "An official at Borivli told us that the coach would be replaced s o o n a f t e r t h e t r a i n reached Valsad. We took him along with us to Valsad to ensure that the authorities there paid heed to our request."

The passengers had warned that they would not allow the train to move out of Borivli if the official did not accompany them to Valsad.

Another passenger, Malik Imamuddin, added, "The 3-hour journey upto Valsad was unbearable because of the heat and thelack of ventilation, especially for senior citizens and children aboard."

"At Valsad, the train halted for another 45 minutes to attach the additional coach. The cooling improved to satisfactory levels in one compartment," Khan said.

The train is now likely to reach Ajmer three to four hours behind its scheduled arrival time of 2.40am on Sunday.