After 72-hr megablock, CR promises better services

Mumbai: Central Railway (CR) will soon be able to carry 600 more passengers per train on the Harbour line, besides increasing speed and reducing breakdowns following the 72-hour block between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Wadala during the weekend.
The block, for platform extension work at CST and Dockyard Road stations, ended at 1.30 am on Monday.Though passengers were inconvenienced as they had to depend largely on road transport, BEST ran a total of 100 extra buses from Wadala to CST to cater to the rush on Saturday-Sunday. Officials said Harbour services will return to normal from Monday morning.
“We regret the inconvenience to commuters during the weekend when several trains were cancelled and some ran slow during peak hours. But the benefits of the block are immense: You will get 12-car rakes soon and it will increase the carrying capacity of trains along the Harbour line,” said CR spokesperson A K Jain. He said 200 passengers could travel in an extra coach, which will mean ferrying up to 600 in three extra coaches per train in future. It will also help reduce crowds on platforms, especially at CST, during peak hours.
The Harbour line runs 590 services daily with 36 rakes. Now that the platforms are extended to accommodate 12-car rakes, CR plans to augment at least 20 rakes from nine-car to 12-car by April-end, so that 200 services can benefit from May. In the next phase, the 16 remaining 12-car rakes will be introduced and tentatively by June-July, this will ensure all Harbour trains are 12-car.
Subramanian Iyer, a regular office-goer from Kharghar, said, “What ails the Harbour line is the presence of old rakes, discomfort while travelling, regular delays, slow trains and occasional breakdowns.”
A senior CR official said, “The new rakes will run on 25KV alternate current (AC) traction. It will ensure faster trains, fewer delays, minimum breakdown, energy-saving and a comfortable ride for passengers. We plan to switch from 1500 V direct current (DC) to 25KV AC traction by March 31. Officials have begun work to retrofit rakes from DC to DC-AC compatible rakes and pure AC compatible ones. It will ensure a smooth commute.”
More than 150 officials and labourers worked uninterruptedly on OHE and signals at CST, besides platform extension, on Sunday. “It was a major task on hand but we were glad to finish it by the deadline,” PRO A K Singh said.