Steel seats to replace plastic in Mumbai’s western line second-class coaches

Western Railway (WR) is planning on giving its passengers a sturdier commute on all its suburban locals’ second-class coaches by replacing the existing polycarbonate seats with stainless steel ones.

The zonal railway division has been receiving multiple complaints about the polycarbonate seats breaking frequently. Ravinder Bhakar, chief spokesperson of WR said that the decision to bring in stainless steel seating has already gotten official approval. “The work is expected to cost around ₹45-48 crore,” he said.

A senior WR official said that they have a fleet of about 100 suburban locals fitted with polycarbonate seats. “Tenders will be invited once the estimates finalised,” he said, requesting anonymity, before adding that no plans have been made to change seating in first-class coaches.

According to WR officials, each stainless steel seat is expected to cost around Rs15,000.

Railway authorities introduced polycarbonate seats on locals procured under the first phase of Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) because the material was fire-resistant and recyclable. But they said stainless seats have a longer life, are easier to maintain and cannot be vandalised.

Shailesh Goyal, a commuter activist said while the hardness of polycarbonate seats makes long journeys uncomfortable, stainless steel would be the same as well as slippery. Rajiv Singhal, another activist, criticised railway authorities for ignoring first-class seats which are in bad shape despite the commuter paying fares several times higher than that of second class.