Raman Negi on quitting The Local Train: Time for me to move on

On Tuesday, Delhi-based band The Local Train formally announced that Raman Negi, the band’s founding member, has moved on, ending months of speculation about their future.

After months of speculation, popular indie rock band The Local Train (TLT) has confirmed that their founding member and frontman, Raman Negi, has left the group after being part of the band for 14 years. On April 6, Negi had replied to a fan’s query of why the band hasn’t been performing lately and said that he quit the band in December, last year.

The Local Train was formed in Chandigarh in 2008, but the band shifted their base to Delhi in 2015.

Negi exclusively tells us, “It (quitting the band) was on my mind for a while. I wanted to explore the side of me as a singer-songwriter, because there’s just so much more I want to say.”

Fans of the band have flooded social media, with many wondering if the band has split and expressed their disappointment over the news. Negi also admits that the fan reaction on social media over the speculation has only made the decision to leave the band “harder”.

“Of course, I never expected this kind of reaction. I had some amazing times in TLT, and we created some good music and memories. Fans are a big part of that and I understand where they are coming from. But it was time for me to move on,” says Negi who has been working on an independent album, in collaboration with Advaita’s bassist Gaurav Chintamani, for the last four months.

In the statement issued by the band on social media on Tuesday, apart from confirming Negi’s exit, it also stressed upon the fact that the outfit — with the rest of its members, including Ramit Mehra, Sahil Sarin and Paras Thakur — will continue to release music and perform live.

“TLT prevails stronger than ever. We are here to stay and do what we have always done. We continue to wish Raman the best. We are eternally grateful for every single one of you. There’s much more to come! (Ramit, Paras, Sahil - The Local Train),” the statement read.

The Local Train band has had a dedicated fanbase, which has been slowly increasing every year, since they were first formed in Chandigarh in 2008 by Negi, Ramit Mehra and Sahil Sarin. Since then, they have had a cult following and are arguably one of the few rock acts in the country to have tasted mainstream success with popular tracks such as Choo Lo, Kaise Jiyun and Khudi.