Chaos reigns at Virar stn, motorman, guard mobbed after new AC train door glitch at Nalasopara
Passengers gherao motorman and guard at Virar station
The doors of six of 12 coaches of an AC local train did not open at Nalasopara station due to a snag in communication on Monday, leading to commuters mobbing the motorman and guard at Virar railway station for the inconvenience. The station master, RPF and GRP faced a difficult time handling them. The AC train stopped at Nalasopara station at 11.30 pm but the guard did not open the doors, said commuters.
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“After a few seconds, the train went to the next halt at Virar at full speed. Staff did not respond to emergency and distress calls. On reaching Virar, the guard ran away, and the station master took 30 minutes to come to the station. I, along with around 50 other passengers, have registered an official complaint. Officials assured us verbally that a resolution will be given in seven days. But they have simply closed the complaint saying it was a technical issue,” said Keval Gala, who was onboard the train.
The station master, GRP and RPF had a tough time handling the situation
The train arrived at Virar at 11.34 pm after which angry and upset passengers gheraoed the motorman and guard. Commuters wanted the motorman to take the train back to Nalasopara since they had missed their station. The station master, along with RPF and GRP personnel, had a tough time handling the situation.
Also Read: Mumbai: Expect more 15-car trains on Western Railway from this week
What WR says happened
Railway officials said there was a software glitch in the TCMS ( Train Control Management System). But it will be fixed. “The 12-car train is made of two units of six coaches each. One unit of six coaches from the motorman’s side did not open due to TCMS failure. After the train was taken to the carshed and probed, it was found that there was communication failure in coach numbers 7028 CBA and 7026 CBA which was rectified by tightening of connectors of train network circuit of the two coaches,” said Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Sumit Thakur, adding that after repairs the train was functioning normally.
mid-day had highlighted in its November 30, 2022 edition how the existing lot of 13 AC local trains in Mumbai are reportedly of ‘substandard quality’ and have several issues leading to lots of problems and irregular services. Both the city’s railway zones—Central and Western Railway—have written to the manufacturers—Integral Coach Factory in Chennai—listing out several flaws in the trains and working on solutions to fix them.
There was a similar instance on the CR a few months ago when the doors of an AC local train did not open and passengers were taken to Kalwa carshed. Officials said the existing local trains are prototypes and added that the idea is to convert the entire fleet of Mumbai local trains into AC locals in the future.
More AC trains to come
“There are long-term plans to get new 238 Mumbai-customised AC local trains—47 under MUTP-3 and 191 under MUTP-3A—having inbuilt infotainment and CCTV with better acceleration. The trains will be procured by the MRVC and plans are in process,” he said.
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