Western Railway earns Rs 1.72 crore from movie shoots in financial year 2025-26

Western Railway has achieved a new milestone in nonfare revenue generation by earning a record Rs 172 crore from movie shoots during the financial year 202526 until February 15 This marks a significant 25 per cent increase over the previous best performance of around Rs 164 crore recorded in financial year 202223 positioning Western Railway as one of the top zones in the country for revenue from this innovative segment an official press release statedThe zone has actively promoted its stations trains platforms yards and other premises as shooting locations for movies television serials web series and advertisement films the release addedPermissions have been granted for shoots on MailExpress trains suburban local trains and various railway properties offering filmmakers authentic and dynamic backdropsTo facilitate the film industry Western Railway has streamlined the permission process through a singlewindow system managed by its public relations department Production houses now submit a single application and all the necessary clearances are coordinated internally ensuring approvals are issued in a timebound manner the release added At the same time the railway has maintained strict priority on passenger safety operational efficiency and commuter convenience during shootsA notable first this year was the permission granted for filming inside Indiarsquos modern and premium Vande Bharat train providing the film industry access to worldclass railway infrastructure and underscoring Western Railwayrsquos progressive approachAmong the notable projects shot on Western Railway premises in recent times are films such as O Romeo Fateh Tera Yaar Hoon Main SikandarWestern Railway adds 12 AC locals commuters question fare gap and timingThe 12 more AC local services on Western Railway has triggered a fresh debate among commuters with regards to its timings and fare but most importantly many calling for standardising fareslabs of AC trains and cutting down difference between AC and nonAC trainsThe WR on Friday announced that they would be introducing 12 more AC and three nonAC local train services from February 19 Responding to the growing popularity of airconditioned travel while recognising the continued need for affordable options for the masses Western Railway aims to offer a balanced and inclusive commuting experience The augmentation in services will help ease overcrowding and offer better travel experience We are introducing 12 AC Local services of which 11 services will replace existing nonAC services while one will be a new AC service In addition to this three additional nonAC services are also being introducedrdquo a WR spokesperson saidldquoWith this increase the total number of AC services will increase from 121 to 133 and the total number of local services of Western Railway network will increase from 1410 to 1414 The number of AC services operating on Saturdays and Sundays will also be significantly increased from 77 to 106 further enhancing comfort and capacity for weekend commuters In addition to this a slow local service that is presently operating from Bhayandar to Bandra will operate from Virar providing added convenience and improved connectivity for commutersrdquo he addedCommuters said there are two things about the new services ldquoRailways are playing a game with innocent passengers The new AC local trains being introduced are like a slow poison to all other commuters Also the timings of these trains are not beneficial to all passengers The railways must work out changesrdquo former member National Railway Users Consultative Committee told Sunday middayldquoIt is a bad decision to replace nonAC with AC services Adding new AC services without replacing existing AC services is the good decision The nonAC traveller have now started feeling the heat of the reduction of their regular services It do away with nonAC trains altogether provided the fares are slashed down to nonAC fares Only then it would be justified Another solution would be to split a train to AC and nonAC coaches in the same trainrdquo commuter Amit Surana saidldquoWR seems to be deliberately ignoring Borivali Kandivali and Malad residents after the 515 pm AC and 550 pm AC trains have departed there are no more AC trains for Borivali Kandivali and Malad at least modify 550 pm AC to halt at Malad and Kandivali Why the injusticerdquo commuter Sudhir Kamath questionedYet another commuter Nitesh M said ldquoWhat is the use of the services to run on less crowded route Please increase services to and from till Dadar or Andheri where huge crowd travel during peak and regular hours seven days of weekrdquo