Smooth rides, fast services expected on WR slow track

Mumbai: Western Railway (WR) commuters can look forward to jerk-free rides and faster and punctual services, as it has initiated a six-month plan to remove 50 useless crossovers and improve the signalling system on the slow line will shave off four minutes per trip between Churchgate and Andheri.

WR has been suffering from delays for nearly four years, but in a recent move its top officials drew a plan in which crossover points where the train switches tracks causing the typical jerk felt inside the train to lose its intensity.

An official on the condition of anonymity said, “Too many crossover points affect the punctuality of services because you have to stop one train for the other to pass. But if we can afford it, we’ll shut them down”. He added, “Additionally the criss-crossing of another set of tracks at these points cause the slight jerk that you feel in the train, but we plan to weld the tracks that had to be cut and reduce the intensity of jerk commuters currently feel.”

These crossover points are located at Bandra, Vile Parle, Vasai and Borivili to name a few. The new signalling system will have four panels of light instead of the current three, allowing the trains to go beyond the current speed restriction of 70 kmph. The official said, “Currently we use the three-phase signal on the slow line, that is green, red and yellow. As a result, there is no buffer light between red and yellow and the trains have been given a speed limit of 70 kmph. But now there will be an additional yellow light; and when the first one is on, the motorman can go up to as high as 80 to 90 kmph, saving time”.

The orders for all these works have already been given by the WR to their officers who have begun the legwork for the same. Confirming these plans, divisional railway manager Mukul Jain said, “We have told our officials to start with the crossover and the signal work. We will watch the experiment closely for the next six months and take a call on what to do next”.