Suresh Prabhu’s tweet on new AC train upsets bureaucrats

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted that the Central Railway (CR) will now get an air-conditioned train soon, but officers are miffed that the new train would be a Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL)-make train, whose non-air-conditioned trains currently plying on the mainline are notorious for its breakdowns.

CR officials have replaced the electrical works of three out of the eight non-air-conditioned BHEL trains. “We currently have five BHEL trains on the CR which have to be sent into service every day and handled with kid gloves. Another three were given a complete electric overhaul and have stopped giving us trouble since a few months ago, but yes BHEL is the worst performer in the system,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

The BHEL is plagued with many issues like breaking down of the engine, short circuit in the electrical panel located in the motorman’s cabin, delay in breaking, etc. “To be honest we would have preferred to get even 10 of the Bombardier make trains than this one BHEL air-conditioned one,” said and official who maintains the local train also known as a Electric Multiple Unit (EMU).

Officials said that Mr Prabhu’s tweet has given the impression that a separate air-conditioned train has been allotted to CR but they soon found that this has been done as a way to compensate for all the 72 brand new non-air-conditioned Bombardier trains to the WR.

The railway minister tweeted at 12. 01 pm, “One AC EMU rake has been allotted to Central Railway, will improve passenger experience in Mumbai. We are constantly endeavouring to improve services”. This led to a flurry of enquiries amongst the railway officials who then realised that the train was actually slated to come to WR, but was diverted to CR in a last minute call taken by Mr Prabhu and the Railway board.

Another reason behind the diversion to CR was the logistics of maintaining the different types of trains, claimed sources. “If WR has to maintain the new Bombardier make, which are as many as 72 as well as the current rakes that ply on their line like Seimens, Alstorm and retrofitted Alternate Current plus the new BHEL air-conditioned train there is a big chance of an oversight sooner or later. So it makes more sense to send the air-conditioned train to CR,” added the official.

The train is expected to arrive in Mumbai mid-April after which it will go through a rigorous process of testing and will finally be accessible to commuters by the end of this year.