Mumbai gets India's first AC local train

India's first air-conditioned (AC) local train, stretching between Mumbai's Churchgate and Virar station, was flagged off today from Borivali station.

The fully air-conditioned 12 coach train ran its maiden journey at 10:32 a.m., and was flagged off by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Kirit Somaiya, Gopal Shetty, Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar and WR General Manager Anil Kumar Gupta at Borivali station.

The inaugural comes after the Western Railways conducted about 65 trial runs over two years at Kurla and Virar car-sheds before starting its services today.

The coaches will carry approximately 6,000 commuters per rake. These coaches will also have an automatic door opening-closing system.

Excited commuters captured the historic moments by clicking selfies the moment train reached the Churchgate station at 11.16 am.

One of the excited commuters, Bhavika Nair told ANI, "We are happy that we got this gift from the Indian Railways on the day of Christmas. We are expecting some new surprises in the coming year.