WR wants better-made AC rakes to tackle rains

MUMBAI: The solitary air-conditioned (AC) suburban service of Western Railway (WR) has been in the news for its poor performance this monsoon. Now, the Mumbai division of WR has written a letter to the WR headquarter, saying it does not want such an AC rake in future. It cited problems related to maintenance. It said that future AC rakes should be designed to operate during water-logging and maintenance should not take over six hours. At present, the AC rake takes two days for maintenance, sources said.

A senior officer of WR, requesting anonymity, said that the AC local train takes more than a minute’s time to depart from the station as its doors take 45 to 50 seconds to close, while a suburban train takes 20 to 30 seconds to depart.

Officials also pointed out that the Bombardier-made trains operate at 10 kmph to 30 kmph during water-logging. But during heavy rain, the services of the AC train have to be terminated so that it does not get marooned. “The maintenance should not take over six hours; it should be well-designed.”

“The maintenance should not take over six hours; it should be designed in such a manner so that it can be run during water-logging on the tracks too,” read the letter.

"We want a maximum permissible limit for AC suburban trains to operate during water-logging and heavy rains," an official added.   

Last Monday, the AC local allegedly suffered a snag, as the doors of the train in one of the coaches did not open at Dadar station.

Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, manufactured the present AC rake.   

At present, the Western Railway (WR) has one AC rake, which is used for 12 services between Churchgate and Virar.

The Asian Age on July 11 had reported that the MRVC is planning to procure the AC rake on lease.