CHENNAI: Southern Railway will be using the shutdown time to do ground work at stations and yards so that they run trains with 22 LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches on all routes from Central and Egmore as part of efforts to standardise size and capacity of trains.
The move comes after Railway Board issued a letter specifying the number of LHB coaches that can be used in the three types of trains.It asked zones to conduct a survey whether platforms at stations and pit lines at yards, where trains are maintained, have the capacity to park these trains.
As per the ‘standardization of rakes’ norms,train like Shatabdi, Tejas or Double Decker should have 18 coaches, intercity day trains should have 20 coaches and long distance express trains should have 22 coaches. The board has asked railway zones to conduct a survey to check for these facilities and standardise the rakes as per availability of the platforms and pit lines.
Southern Railway may have to start work to assess and improve platforms and pit lines as not all have the adequate pit lines to maintain trains at its yards. An official said a 22-coach LHB is of the same length as a 24-coach of ICF-design coaches.
Platforms will have to be extended, widened or straightened and more pit lines will have to be built at yards by the time services are expected to resume in a month or two. Now, railway uses trains of varying lengths — 18, 20 and 24 — depending on the route and also mix coaches — ICF design and LHB.
An official said only four to five lines in the main yard of the MGR Central can handle broader and lengthier trains as the pit lines are designed to handle ICF designed coaches. Similar is the scene with the yard at Egmore. Only new yards at Tambaram or Tirunelveli have the required facilities for new coaches. “We have time now. The yards in Chennai have been spruced up to handle the LHB trains. Platforms at Central railway station have been lengthened but more work needs to be done because some of the platforms have a curve which slows down trains as they enter the station.”
The move comes now because railways were forced to introduce LHB coaches and phase out ICF design coaches before the ground infrastructure at stations and railway yards were ready to handle broader and lengthier trains.
The move comes after Railway Board issued a letter specifying the number of LHB coaches that can be used in the three types of trains.It asked zones to conduct a survey whether platforms at stations and pit lines at yards, where trains are maintained, have the capacity to park these trains.
As per the ‘standardization of rakes’ norms,train like Shatabdi, Tejas or Double Decker should have 18 coaches, intercity day trains should have 20 coaches and long distance express trains should have 22 coaches. The board has asked railway zones to conduct a survey to check for these facilities and standardise the rakes as per availability of the platforms and pit lines.
Southern Railway may have to start work to assess and improve platforms and pit lines as not all have the adequate pit lines to maintain trains at its yards. An official said a 22-coach LHB is of the same length as a 24-coach of ICF-design coaches.
Platforms will have to be extended, widened or straightened and more pit lines will have to be built at yards by the time services are expected to resume in a month or two. Now, railway uses trains of varying lengths — 18, 20 and 24 — depending on the route and also mix coaches — ICF design and LHB.
An official said only four to five lines in the main yard of the MGR Central can handle broader and lengthier trains as the pit lines are designed to handle ICF designed coaches. Similar is the scene with the yard at Egmore. Only new yards at Tambaram or Tirunelveli have the required facilities for new coaches. “We have time now. The yards in Chennai have been spruced up to handle the LHB trains. Platforms at Central railway station have been lengthened but more work needs to be done because some of the platforms have a curve which slows down trains as they enter the station.”
The move comes now because railways were forced to introduce LHB coaches and phase out ICF design coaches before the ground infrastructure at stations and railway yards were ready to handle broader and lengthier trains.
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