AC for underground stations on fast corridor

Underground stations for the Oval Maidan-Virar elevated fast corridor will have air-conditioning so that commuters don’t feel suffocated, said a report submitted by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) that is currently being reviewed in Delhi by the Railway Board.

It has been suggested that the stations concerned — Bandra, Vile Parle, Andheri and Santa Cruz — be made underground due to a lack of land in this belt. The report also suggests that these should be air-conditioned because of the heavy footfall expected during peak hours and the hot temperatures recorded in the city. Underground trains in cities such as Paris, New York and Brussels have air-conditioning inside the train, but rarely is there air-conditioning in the station area itself. “These countries usually have colder weather than us. Mumbai often sees temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. Plus, our humidity level is always above 60 per cent while these cities in colder regions have almost negligible humidity,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

The report says: “The underground stations of the corridor are built in a confined space. A large number of passengers occupy concourse halls and the platforms, especially during peak hours. The platform and concourse areas have limited access from the outside and do not have natural ventilation. It is therefore essential to provide forced ventilation in the stations and inside the tunnel.”

In all, the report will have four areas — station air-conditioning system, ventilation system for station plant rooms (ancillary spaces), station smoke management system and tunnel ventilation system — which would be dedicated to cooling and ventilation in particular.

The official further said, “We recommended these suggestions particularly for this city because there is no other city in the country that handles such a large amount of commuter footfall and also has these weather conditions.”

The suggestions were made keeping in view that if the project is made operational by 2021, officials expect 20,000 commuters in each train during peak hours.