As of now, CR Mumbai has just a handful AC local rakes and frequency is 20-60 minutes throughout the day. Those who want to travel and have time to wait for the local are traveling and due to present heat conditions numbers are improving daily.

Presently locals have seats like second class in local. Only benefit is AC, just like Metro. Again, it is not smart. If not enough passengers, its temperature is like a chiller, not AC. Of course, they are trying to modify this to suit actual number of passengers...
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in coach.

They (MRVC) decided to tender additional rakes (something like 238) for both CR and WR. Tenders are yet to be floated, and once floated, and awarded, time gap for the first of those rake to appear is at least a year away.

If they reduce fares to Metro level right now, many more people will buy AC tickets but will not wait (after first trip) for next AC local. Mumbai local passengers treat every local as last one and don't mind crowds. The only running Metro (Mumbai Metro One) reveals this behavior fabulously. So who is going to get blamed?

We may actually see reduction only after the arrival of new AC rakes is ascertained.