Western Railway: AC train likely to face teething troubles, not to run on weekends

The Western Railway will observe the running of the train for the first three months and then advise corrections in the next batch of nine AC rakes to be procured from the ICF.

THE FIRST air-conditioned (AC) train, expected to ply on the Western Railway from December 25, might face issues during its initial run in the suburban section, said Western Railway Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Mukul Jain. He said efforts were on to implement its services after redressing each of the issues. The AC local, manufactured by Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), received its sanction from the Railway Board Tuesday. It also received its sanction from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Lucknow, which approved running of its services on the suburban section of the WR at 100 kilometre per hour.

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had announced that the first AC train would ply from December 25 in the suburban train system. While an official nod from the Railway Board on the date is awaited, the Western Railway is prepared to ply the rake from December 25.
“We are prepared to run the AC train whenever an official confirmation from the board is received. We have also received the board sanction on its running today. Twelve services of the AC rake will ply on each day from Monday to Friday between Churchgate and Virar stations. We may or may not run services of the rake on Saturday but it will definitely not ply on Sunday for maintenance purpose,” said Jain.

The rake, received from the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai in 2015, underwent multiple technical trials at the Kurla car-shed before it was transferred to the Western Railway in May this year. Officials had raised issues with its technicalities and functioning before inducting it to the system for running. “We have tried to address each and every small concern of the train before it gets inducted in the system. During its initial run, the train may face issues. There are chances that we may have to withdraw the service for a few days to redress the error. However, the train will provide comfort to a larger section of passengers in the system and the Western Railway will ensure it earnestly,” added Jain.

“In case a passenger pushes the alarm button by mistake, officials will have to stride through the commuter rush in the train and find a way to stop the alarm. Fitted with automatic doors, we are equally concerned if it will be able to handle additional commuter rush near the foot board area. Senior officials of BHEL will supervise its running in the initial days,” said a senior official.
The Western Railway will observe the running of the train for the first three months and then advise corrections in the next batch of nine AC rakes to be procured from the ICF. Each rake costs Rs 54 crore. While fares have not been decided, officials said it might cost equal to first-class charges. “Keeping the fares of the AC local equal to that of the first class will allow commuters to switch to travelling in the latter if the AC local remains unavailable. It also restricts crowd movement in the AC train due to the higher fares,” Jain added.

At least two services of the AC local, each in morning and evening peak hours, has been planned on the fast line. It can take a maximum capacity of 6,000 passengers at one go. The entire rake would be vestibule-connected (in two parts of six coaches each).