04 July,2014 08:26 AM IST | | Shashank Rao
Railway officials said that unlike the current coaches, where water enters from ventilation points, the new Bombardier bogies will not allow water to pass through
It seems the railway officials have also seen the picture and video of a rainwater âshower' that has been doing the rounds on various social networking sites.
Rail authorities say they the new Bombardier rakes have undergone technical changes to ensure rainwater doesn't seep in. File pic
With the Metro getting brickbats for water leakage through its AC duct, railway authorities have gone ahead and claimed their own new coaches the much-awaited Bombardier rakes won't face such problems.
These rakes are being procured as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase II, and presently, two such trains are undergoing trial runs and tests on both Central and Western lines.
Sources in the Railways said that these rakes have undergone technical changes to ensure rainwater doesn't seep inside coaches. "Water will be deflected away after hitting the roofs. This will prevent it from entering the compartments," said a senior Western Railway official.
Only air, no water
Earlier, the gap in the roof of the train and ventilation points, provided to allow fresh air to circulate inside, used to coincide - this meant that, along with air, the ventilation inlet also sucked in water.
In the present lot of trains, including the proposed rakes under MUTP-II, rail authorities have changed the alignment of the ventilation inlets, and a separate channel has been also provided for flushing out the accumulated rainwater, onto the tracks.
An additional layer between the ventilation inlet and water channel shall also soak in any water that may seep through. This hopefully means commuters stay dry while inside the train. Meanwhile, Metro authorities inspected all the 128 AC units installed in their 64 coaches. Of these, one had malfunctioned and caused leakage during the heavy rains. The unit has now been repaired.
