Dahanu MEMU train back on track

The delegation of passengers that met WR General Managar Alok Kansal on Thursday

Western Railway commuters have got their long-missed Dahanu MEMU train back and cannot thank General Manager Alok Kansal enough. Commuter association members said that the train was restored within four hours of their meeting him, and their months' long struggle to get it restored has ended, making life easy for several thousands of commuters.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has been very difficult for commuters who have been staying in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and beyond. Local trains had been opened for the fully vaccinated earlier, but not the MEMU trains, which are a crucial link for east west and long-distance connectivity. After much convincing, the Maharashtra government and railways had restored MEMU services last month-end, but those were limited to MMR and services plied between Panvel and Vasai," Hitesh Save, spokesperson of Dahanu Vaitarna Pravasi Sevabhavi Sanstha (DVPSS) told mid-day.

One of the benches made from recycled plastic

'Thankful to Kansal'

"The problem remained for commuters beyond Vasai as a number of industries and working population had to go to places like Boisar, and restoring trains all the way to Dahanu was very important. Due to limited road and rail connectivity beyond that, it was proving to be very difficult for commuters to travel beyond Vasai and we had been trying quite hard to get the train restored till Dahanu. We had hopes from the WR's top boss the general manager and hence took a delegation to him on Thursday. To our surprise, he called up officials and by the time we reached home, the official notification of the restoration of the train had been released. We are really thankful to Kansal," Himanshu Vartak, member of DVPSS said.

"We have met many authorities in past four years, but no one has acted on our demands so fast. Kansal has also assured us that he will look into other demands, made notes on them and asked his team to submit status reports and was also positive about restoration of halts at Palghar. He said that he was personally looking into them," Vartak, who is also the consultative committee member for Palghar station, said.

Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Sumit Thakur said passenger convenience has been a priority and they have been doing whatever is possible, given the limitations within regulations.

Plastic waste turned into benches

The Western Railway has recycled plastic collected from its premises and turned it into sturdy benches and installed them at suburban stations.
"These benches are made from the collection of plastic waste at stations during drives. These are made from post-consumer multi-layer packets (MLPs), commonly known as plastic bags. The process involves shredding MLPs into small pieces, heating them in an oven and cooling them to form boards. These boards are then cut into desired size and shapes. Almost 40 to 50 kg of soft plastic goes into the making of one bench. These seats are waterproof and ideal for outdoor locations," WR CPRO Sumit Thakur said.