Mumbai: The central railway (CR) will run the first Bombardier-make train from Kalyan to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Monday.
The train, also known as the “Pink Local”, was to make its debut on both CR and western railway (WR) but it was decided to send the entire fleet of 72 trains to WR instead.
The 72 trains were brought back in 2016 on WR. Later, the railway board decided to introduce 20 Bombardier-make trains on CR as well.
The Bombardier-make trains have garnered a lot of interest because of their new, more spacious, design; and sophisticated software which enables them to run at speeds of 105 kmph.
Features such as polycarbonate chairs equipped to bear heavy wear-and-tear, more legroom, and more space to stand between seats and corridors will enable these trains to accommodate more commuters than the current Siemens-make trains.
The CR will be getting a total 20 Bombardier rakes (trains) from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai that will be introduced in phases, said divisional railway manager S.K. Jain.
“The first train will be run from Kalyan to CST at 6.57 am on Monday and will see 12 services throughout the day. We hope that we will eventually introduce the train on the harbour line as well but we would need to make some changes to the train.”
The train is currently parked in the Kurla carshed and will make its way to Kalyan empty and will then be inducted in the CR toward CSMT.
At the time the 72 rakes were to be distributed between CR and WR, it was decided that it would be easier to maintain them if they were run on only one railway.
