Central Railway will start its first AC local in August, said D K Sharma, the CR’s longest serving GM who is set to retire on May 31. Sharma, during w hose tenure CR saw introduction of Tejas Express and construction of record number of FOBs, speaks to Manthan K Mehta about the challenges, achievements and what is store for CR commuters. Excerpts:
Q: You had the longest tenure amongst GMs. How do you view your tenure?
A: Although I have been the GM for two and a half years, I feel a person should be at the helm for at least three years. I had a satisfying tenure as there were many firsts. The entire Mumbai division got electrified, and we rolled out premium Tejas Express. Also, during my tenure, CR got its first Rajdhani which is also the first train in India to run with push-and-pull technology that helped reduce travel time. Soon, we will run the Mumbai-Pune Intercity with similar technology.
Q: The suburban system used to witness lots of failures. How has been the performance since you took charge?
A: There were a lot of asset failures—be it signalling, track or rake related. We improved on maintenance practices which brought down failures. We would like to improve punctuality to 95%, but the major road blocks are the level-crossing gates at Diva, Kalwa and Ambivli.
Q: How do you propose to solve this problem?
A: The road over-bridge structures at these level-crossings are ready. The local civic agencies have to undertake the work on approach paths. We are hopeful that these approaches will be ready in six months to one year.
Q: There is huge concern on lack of progress on the fifth and sixth lines between Thane-Diva and CSMT-Parel.
A: We have already commissioned the Parel Terminus. We have begun the preliminary work on Parel-Kurla and the Thane-Diva stretch will be ready within a year.
Q: What about running 15-car and AC trains?
A: We will get an AC train in August, but the path has not been decided. In future, all rakes will have AC as 47 rakes are being ordered under MUTP-3 and another 210 under MUTP- 3A. Regarding 15-car trains, we have proposed to have several work related to this project in the next budget. We will be able to complete 15-car projects in three years.
Q: What is the progress on infrastructure upgrade?
A: We have provided 49 FoBs since December 2016 and work on another 13 is in progress. Moreover, 48 new FOBs have been sanctioned. In a year, all suburban stations will have escalators (except may be Masjid which does not have adequate platform width).
Q: The CSMT restoration is close to your heart. How is it shaping up?
A: We are spending around Rs 52 crore on it. We have replaced the tiles, revamped the floors, doors and even louvers. We have also removed encroachments and add-ons from the corridors.
Q: You had the longest tenure amongst GMs. How do you view your tenure?
A: Although I have been the GM for two and a half years, I feel a person should be at the helm for at least three years. I had a satisfying tenure as there were many firsts. The entire Mumbai division got electrified, and we rolled out premium Tejas Express. Also, during my tenure, CR got its first Rajdhani which is also the first train in India to run with push-and-pull technology that helped reduce travel time. Soon, we will run the Mumbai-Pune Intercity with similar technology.
Q: The suburban system used to witness lots of failures. How has been the performance since you took charge?
A: There were a lot of asset failures—be it signalling, track or rake related. We improved on maintenance practices which brought down failures. We would like to improve punctuality to 95%, but the major road blocks are the level-crossing gates at Diva, Kalwa and Ambivli.
Q: How do you propose to solve this problem?
A: The road over-bridge structures at these level-crossings are ready. The local civic agencies have to undertake the work on approach paths. We are hopeful that these approaches will be ready in six months to one year.
Q: There is huge concern on lack of progress on the fifth and sixth lines between Thane-Diva and CSMT-Parel.
A: We have already commissioned the Parel Terminus. We have begun the preliminary work on Parel-Kurla and the Thane-Diva stretch will be ready within a year.
Q: What about running 15-car and AC trains?
A: We will get an AC train in August, but the path has not been decided. In future, all rakes will have AC as 47 rakes are being ordered under MUTP-3 and another 210 under MUTP- 3A. Regarding 15-car trains, we have proposed to have several work related to this project in the next budget. We will be able to complete 15-car projects in three years.
Q: What is the progress on infrastructure upgrade?
A: We have provided 49 FoBs since December 2016 and work on another 13 is in progress. Moreover, 48 new FOBs have been sanctioned. In a year, all suburban stations will have escalators (except may be Masjid which does not have adequate platform width).
Q: The CSMT restoration is close to your heart. How is it shaping up?
A: We are spending around Rs 52 crore on it. We have replaced the tiles, revamped the floors, doors and even louvers. We have also removed encroachments and add-ons from the corridors.
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