The Local Train and Vocalist-Guitarist Raman Negi Part Ways

UPDATE (19-04-2022): The Local Train announced on Instagram that they will continue after the exit of frontman Raman Negi from the band. Ramit Mehra, Sahil Sarin and Paras Thakur addressed fans and said: “TLT prevails stronger than ever! We’re here to stay and do what we’ve always done. We continue to wish Raman the best. We’re eternally grateful for every single one of you. There’s much more to come!”

Counted as writing Indian rock’s most recent and resounding success story, Chandigarh-origin, New Delhi-based quartet The Local Train’s future has now been mired in doubt after vocalist-guitarist Raman Negi told fans on Twitter that he exited the group earlier this year. A statement from band members Ramit Mehra, Sahil Sarin and Paras Thakur, or their management, Spectal Management, is awaited.

Negi was responding to a fan question about the band’s quiet period in the last four months and said, “I quit the band like 4 months ago!” on April 6th. The Local Train last performed at the Falcon Festival in Dima Hasao in Assam in November. Although a year-ender show was slated for December 31st in Jaipur, it was called off a day prior. “As communicated by the organizers, our performance tomorrow at Clarks Amer unfortunately stands canceled until further notice,” the band posted on Instagram. 

Like many artists around the country, The Local Train too were hit hard by the pandemic and its ensuing lockdowns and restrictions to touring, although the band were working on their third album — the follow-up to 2015’s Aalas Ka Pedh and 2018’s Vaaqif. Now, as recently as March, Negi took to social media to share snippets from recording sessions for his solo album. A source from the artist management industry mentions that the band had been turning down performance offers for the past few months.