WR’S plan to roll out suburban AC trains derails, to take three months

ON THE TRACKS BY MARCH?

MUMBAI: Commuters will have to wait further for air conditioned trains to roll out. The process has been delayed by three months owing to technical reasons.

The delay is attributed to the time taken for testing electrical equipment of the 12-car AC vestibule train.

The much-awaited AC trains were to make a debut on Western Railway (WR), by December 2015. It has now been postponed to March end. The 12-car AC vestibule train is at present being assembled at Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. Officials said that equipment testing is taking time as this is the first time Ac trains are being rolled out on the suburban section.

“The electrical components have arrived and assembling of two of the four units is also completed, while the assembling of other two other units is in progress. We are hoping to complete the work by the end of AC local trains on the Mumbai suburban network were announced by railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in 201314 in the Railway Budget. Though it was supposed to be operated by January 2014, it kept getting delayed

In the interim railway budget of 2014-15, the then Union minister for railways, Mallikarjun Kharge, announced that AC local trains who did not wish to be named.

“We were hoping for the trains to start arriving by November last year and had accordingly made the time table as well. However, the ICF authorities have assured that the trains will arrive by February this year. After this, the trials will be conducted before introduction of train, which will take some more time,” said GC Agrawal, general manager, WR.

The train has the capacity will be operated on WR suburban network by July 2014 However, so far the introduction of AC train continues to get delayed every year, now it was expected to arrive in the city by March

The 12-car AC local trains can carry up to 400 passengers in a coach and the coaches will be interconnected with vestibules coach and the coaches will be interconnected. The train is expected to cater to first class commuters and reduce congestion on roads by providing option to car users in the Churchgate to Borivli stretch.

WR initially plans to run 20services a day between Churchgate and Borivli on the fast corridor. For suburban commuters, this could mean comfortable option to travel in humid climate of the city believed, it will take at least couple of months for the WR to introduce the trains on the suburban section after they arrive owing to the safety trials that have to be carried out.

This is not the first time the WR has missed the deadline to run AC trains; it is in fact the third time in less than a year. It was scheduled to arrive by March 2015 earlier but got delayed to December. It has now being further delayed to