Western Railway wants your opinion on high-speed trains

30 November,2013 06:11 AM IST |   |  Shashank Rao

Once they are pressed into service, Western Railway officials will ask commuters to send suggestions, so that the remaining 70 trains can be modified to suit their needs


With a view to enhance commuter convenience, the Western Railway (WR) officials said they would invite suggestions on changes required once the recently-procured high-speed trains become operational. A few months ago, the railways received the first of the new trains, which was manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. Recently, in November, they took possession of the second 12-coach rake.


The two high-speed trains that arrived from Chennai recently have better seating arrangements, and two-sided entrance handles that facilitate getting on and off the compartment. File pics

Presently both these trains each costing around Rs 30 crore u00a0are parked at the rail yards and are undergoing technical trial runs at night. Once they are pressed into service, the 75-lakh odd WR passengers will have the chance to evaluate comfort and other other criteria, and provide feedback to the railway authorities on changes needed.

The suggestions would be collated and if feasible, necessary modifications would be implemented in the remaining batch of trains that are scheduled to arrive later. "We would like people to give their feedback on these two new trains, once it becomes operational. Based on their feedback, we shall make necessary changes in those trains coming in later stages," said Hemant Kumar, general manager, WR. Kumar who took charge recently has played a vital role in their manufacturing unit at ICF.

As part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) phase-II, 72 new high-speed trains are scheduled to arrive in the city. These trains have been manufactured keeping the convenience of the commuters in mind. They pack a maximum speed of 120 kmph, and the seating arrangements, handles, doors, windows and increase the carrying capacity.

Features of the high-speed train
>> The 12-car EMUs can run at a maximum speed of 120 kmph, as against 100 kmph of existing rakes
>> Its body is made of stainless steel, will be less susceptible to corrosion, and paan stains
>> Double handles for people to hold on to while alighting and boarding
>> Seats are better shaped, while windows too are bigger and ventilation too has been improvedu00a0

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