Railway officials are sprucing up the trains idling at yards, readying them for as and when services resume
Trains are regularly being serviced in the carshed
So how is Mumbai's fleet of local trains (CR & WR) being maintained in these times of lockdown? The lifeline of local trains that usually run on an average of 300 km up and down the city in multiple trips require more attention and upkeep since they are idle. Moreover, they are now been readied for the monsoon season that is set to begin by June.
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While CR has a fleet of 134 local trains that make 1,774 trips (services) per day on main, harbour, trans-harbour, Khopoli and Belapur-Uran sections, the Western Railway has a fleet of 107 trains with 1,365 services every single day.
Altogether, these 241 trains make 3,139 trips every day from Churchgate to Virar-Dahanu and Mumbai CSMT to Kalyan-Kasara-Karjat and Panvel, ferrying about 8 million commuters daily making the lifeline of the city.
"From such heavy runs to a complete and a long standstill is a challenge. The first and foremost thing is securing them. All the coaches of 59 trains in stabling yards have been secured properly by providing 1,380 padlocks, which will ensure the safety of dead coaches in yards. Maintenance work for WR local trains is done at Mumbai Central and Kandivli carsheds. Out of 110 EMU rakes, 106 rakes are being regularly charged for maintaining the healthiness of battery. This charging cycle is being done every seven days. The first two cycles were done on March 31 and April 7 respectively. The third cycle was completed on April 15 and the next cycle has been scheduled on April 23," WR chief public relations officer Ravinder Bhakar said.
CR chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said all the local trains are being examined daily for safety checks. "Every train is undergoing proper safety check which includes checking of the parking brake, wooden wedges, checking of various cables like earthing cable, Traction motor cables and jumper cables," Sutar added.
The most important of all work for local trains is to prepare them for the Mumbai monsoon. WR officials said before COVID-19 outbreak, pre-monsoon work was completed in 20 trains. "Looking to the quantum of work involved, sheds have restarted all pre-monsoon activities since April 7 in the balance rakes and so far four more trains have been completed," Bhakar said.
During this lockdown period, an average maintenance schedule of a local train includes trip inspection, disinfecting train coaches and driving compartments, spraying Lizol disinfectant solution inside coaches, sanitising driving compartments by mopping with cloth dipped in the disinfectant solution.
Railway officials said the carshed staff is regularly being monitored/screened at all entry points of carsheds for any apparent symptoms of COVID-19 infestation and also sensitized about reporting any medical condition voluntarily.
241
Total no. of local trains that city has
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