Cool ride to SoBo stumbles

Looks like the air-conditioned local train commute between Churchgate and Bandra on the Western Line (WR) is a distant dream. The much-touted AC train ride was supposed to roll out from September-end but WR officials have told the Central Railway that AC local train can’t run between the Churchgate and Bandra due the age old rail-over-bridge (ROB) near Grant Road station (a.k.a. Sandhurst bridge). As a result, the AC local is likely to ply only between Bandra and Virar on the WR line. The AC rake is currently lying idle at CR’s Kurla car-shed for past six months.

A WR official on the condition of anonymity said, “The Sandhurst bridge is an issue that we did not expect on the WR. In fact, the CR had told us to conduct the trial because inherently we have higher bridges than them. We were surprised that the roof of the AC train is higher and could hit the bridge if we ply the train any further.”

The official pointed out that the permissible height between tracks and such bridges is usually 4.27 metres but the height of the AC rake at Kurla measures around 4. 55 metres.

The official said, “We are looking at reducing the train height by shaving off the wheels or by re-fitting the AC units that are currently placed on the roof. They add to the excessive height.”

However, those in the know say that the WR will have to demolish the age-old Sandhurst bridge, just like the way CR had done with the Hancock bridge a few months ago. The official added that to pull down the bridge they will have to enforce a 10-hour mega block.