DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_is-it-wise-to-spend-rs659-crore-on-getting-outstation-trains-to-south-mumbai_1623289)
Is it wise to spend Rs659 crore on getting outstation trains to south Mumbai?

Is it really necessary to spend Rs659 crore and get outstation trains all the way to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Mumbai Central?

Experts and Mumbaikars have mixed reactions.

“Most of the outstation trains get empty by the time they reach Dadar. Hardly anyone travels to CST. Can’t we think a little out of the box?’’ asked Ashok Datar, transport expert with Mumbai Environment Social Network.

“The need today is to quadruple lines on the harbour line — the ones beyond Kalyan and Virar. The real development lies there,” suggested Ravinder Kumar, a former railway official.

The plan was envisaged in the 1980s when it was a requirement. The project is a part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project funded by the World Bank.

“I think we should not follow the plan blindly as things have changed and new modes such as the Metro and monorail are being developed,” said Subhash Gupta, former member of the National Railway Users’ Consultative Committee.

“When Lalu was the railway minister, he had gained some points by announcing extension of train services in the budget and the services had been extended from Kurla Terminus (LTT) and Dadar to CST,’’ Kumar added.

Architect and citizen activist Jagdeep Desai feels that spending so much money on such a project would be a waste. “We can spend the money on other important projects. I believe in low-cost, practical solutions and there is a scope to improve things by implementing small changes,” he said.

But consumer activist AV Shenoy differed. “As a south Mumbai person, I would like all trains to come to CST. However, as 2/3rd of the population resides in the suburbs, I suggest that except important trains, other trains can terminate at Kurla or Bandra or Dadar, with traffic management. The capacity at Kurla and Bandra yards should also be increased,” he said.

DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_is-it-wise-to-spend-rs659-crore-on-getting-outstation-trains-to-south-mumbai_1623289)
Is it wise to spend Rs659 crore on getting outstation trains to south Mumbai?

Is it really necessary to spend Rs659 crore and get outstation trains all the way to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Mumbai Central?

Experts and Mumbaikars have mixed reactions.

“Most of the outstation trains get empty by the time they reach Dadar. Hardly anyone travels to CST. Can’t we think a little out of the box?’’ asked Ashok Datar, transport expert with Mumbai Environment Social Network.

“The need today is to quadruple lines on the harbour line — the ones beyond Kalyan and Virar. The real development lies there,” suggested Ravinder Kumar, a former railway official.

The plan was envisaged in the 1980s when it was a requirement. The project is a part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project funded by the World Bank.

“I think we should not follow the plan blindly as things have changed and new modes such as the Metro and monorail are being developed,” said Subhash Gupta, former member of the National Railway Users’ Consultative Committee.

“When Lalu was the railway minister, he had gained some points by announcing extension of train services in the budget and the services had been extended from Kurla Terminus (LTT) and Dadar to CST,’’ Kumar added.

Architect and citizen activist Jagdeep Desai feels that spending so much money on such a project would be a waste. “We can spend the money on other important projects. I believe in low-cost, practical solutions and there is a scope to improve things by implementing small changes,” he said.

But consumer activist AV Shenoy differed. “As a south Mumbai person, I would like all trains to come to CST. However, as 2/3rd of the population resides in the suburbs, I suggest that except important trains, other trains can terminate at Kurla or Bandra or Dadar, with traffic management. The capacity at Kurla and Bandra yards should also be increased,” he said.

Though a lot of people feel the additional corridors will be underutilized, I think they should be built. The basic purpose of these corridors is to segregate the intercity/outstation trains from the suburban trains. Presently these trains share the fast corridor with fast local trains. The stopping and acceleration patterns of these trains are different from those of the fast local trains. As a result the frequency of fast local trains (around 7-10 min) is much lesser than slow trains (3-4 min). By having a dedicated fast corridor for local trains there will enhanced capacity on the suburban section and the underutilized outstation train corridor can be used to run additional commuter services to distant satellite locations like nasik, pune, roha, valsad, surat e.t.c.

^^ The point is to stop the outstation trains in Kurla/Dadar/Thane /Bandra/Borivli etc. And as per the article, there is not much crowd going to CST/Mumbai central. The existing tracks can be used for suburban services exclusively.

This is a no-brainer.The planning bodies are caught in a time warp. SoBo centric thinking will not help Mumbai in any way. It was a wrong place to be the centre of the city. When market forces are trying to change the city centre, our authorites are damn adamant on spending the extra bucks (other examples - BWSL, MTHL etc)

52k crores over a period of decades, not in one year. MUTP 1 is done,MUTP 2 is underway,MUTP 3 will be done later for which groundwork is underway of which getting the above approval was the first stage.Btw extension work of harbour line from andheri to goregaon is going on full pace. Land is being flattened at lot of places. Laying of tracks to start trains from Mahim Jn is done. After CR now WR will have all 12 coach rakes by 2012. Bombardier has started working on electricals for new 72 coahed at its Gujarat factory.

MUTP 1 amd MUTP2 is much smaller and scope in complexity and the money invested.Even then they have overshot the time they were supposed to be completed in.The Progress you have mentioned is for smaller projects.The bigger ones (especially) the new corridors would have massive issues(litigation/aquisition problems etc) and the target date of completion in 20 Yrs if achieved would be a big miracle. Rs 52,000 crores in 20 years means more then Rs 2,500 Crores every year, which looks impossible right now.

India a truly unique democratic dharmic land where in various elections more number of votes have been cast by its citizens then from any other country. The billions of universal franchise exercised is a Cumalative feat which will remain unparalled till the existance of Mankind.
Erm, booth capturing, vote buying, MP's being on the payroll?
C'mon mate ;-)

C'mon mate just name one country with such a vast disparate set of adversities and challenges and which still managed to pull through democratically with all its flaws and you would be justified in your assesment.
Irrespective of the booth capturing, vote buying and other ills you have mentioned the democratic universal franchise is a irrefutable fact which has been endorsed by neutral observers from all over the world.

52k crores over a period of decades, not in one year. MUTP 1 is done,MUTP 2 is underway,MUTP 3 will be done later for which groundwork is underway of which getting the above approval was the first stage.Btw extension work of harbour line from andheri to goregaon is going on full pace. Land is being flattened at lot of places. Laying of tracks to start trains from Mahim Jn is done. After CR now WR will have all 12 coach rakes by 2012. Bombardier has started working on electricals for new 72 coahed at its Gujarat factory.

CG, are you sure MUTP 1 is done? Does it not include JVLR, SCLR and additional pair of tracks (5th and 6th) between Kalyan and Kurla. All three are work in progress .. technically speaking. 5th and 6th lines between Thane and Kurla were starting to be laid back in 1994. Around Kanjurmarg station. I KID YOU NOT. 1994.

Public transport too slow for city growth


Public transport plays a major role in the lives of all metro dwellers. And so it is in Mumbai. Studies and estimates show that more than 70 lakh Mumbaikars travel by trains every day, nearly 40 lakh by public buses, and 10 lakh by autos, taxis, fleetcabs. No wonder, then, that respondents to The Times Of India-IMRB Quality Of Life Survey perceived Mumbai as having the best public transport facilities of eight Indian mega-cities.

In the survey, the financial capital received a score of 3.5 for its public transport, which, on a scale of 1 to 5, is an above average rating. Mumbai was followed by Hyderabad and Delhi, both of which got a score of 3.1. Experts warn that Mumbai's good showing in this parameter of the survey does not necessarily mean its trains, buses, autos and taxis are running ideally. Rather, it may imply that other cities are worse off than us. Also, they point out, there is a lot threatening to go wrong with our public transport system.
For one, the Central Railway and Western Railway, the city's lifelines, are witnessing an annual growth of almost 3% in passenger numbers. The Harbour and Trans-Harbour networks, meanwhile, are witnessing a 10% growth in passengers. So, unless the railways plan well, experts say, the suburban rail network may soon reach the tipping point.

"The key is to open new corridors as existing lines have reached a saturation point," said an official of Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation. "There is a need to open elevated high-speed corridors on Western, Central and Harbour lines."
Due to projects like Mumbai Urban Transport Project-I, the situation has improved, but many of those gains too have been frittered away. The cause: delay in execution of project. On WR, the number of passengers per coach has dipped to 220 from a peak of 260 in 2006. But at the same time, the number of total passengers has risen from 2.95 million per day to 3.43 million.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Public-transport-too-slow-for-city-growth/articleshow/11102174.cms

CG, are you sure MUTP 1 is done? Does it not include JVLR, SCLR and additional pair of tracks (5th and 6th) between Kalyan and Kurla. All three are work in progress .. technically speaking. 5th and 6th lines between Thane and Kurla were starting to be laid back in 1994. Around Kanjurmarg station. I KID YOU NOT. 1994.

Exactly.If putting up extra pair of lines over 16 kms took 17 years to complete, what would be the fate of the new corridors? (Minimum length 48Kms, other are even longer)
Even the additional rakes that are now being procured had to be done through splitting of MUTP 2 into MUTP 2A as the govt was not able to fulfill certain conditions of the world bank to get finance.

some pics of CST (cc to photographer):

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6515999573_bff6ca589c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/6515999573/)
Inside CST Station-001 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/6515999573/) by ramesh_lalwani (http://www.flickr.com/people/ramesh_lalwani/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6516000551_14ff20ee0e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/6516000551/)
Inside CST Station-002 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/6516000551/) by ramesh_lalwani (http://www.flickr.com/people/ramesh_lalwani/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6516002253_ecc80a51a0_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/6516002253/)
Inside CST Station-004 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/6516002253/) by ramesh_lalwani (http://www.flickr.com/people/ramesh_lalwani/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6515998553_af4ff4e060_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/6515998553/)
Inside CST Station (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramesh_lalwani/6515998553/) by ramesh_lalwani (http://www.flickr.com/people/ramesh_lalwani/), on Flickr

Ticketless travel nets WR 40cr (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Ticketless-travel-nets-WR-40cr/articleshow/11174456.cms)


Manthan K Mehta, TNN | Dec 20, 2011, 03.58AM IST
Mumbai: Total 11.89 lakh cases of ticketless travel were detected on the Western Railway between April and November 2011, 21% more than the corresponding period last year, resulting in recovery of Rs 40.18 crore.

Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer, WR, said, "Similarly, 3,854 cases of illegal transfer of reserved tickets were also detected." During November 2011, 1.46 lakh cases of ticketless/irregular travel were detected, resulting in realization of Rs 4.93 crore in fines.

CST Master plan by Arep Ville.

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/8206/1220201185435pm.jpg

source : DNA Mumbai 20-12-2011

CST by Arep Ville.


For more : http://www.arep.fr/#/en/projects/renovated-stations/chhatrapati-shivaji-terminus-station

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7669/1220201190806pm.jpg

image source : Arep Ville website.

Parel terminus plan to ease Dadar woes

Manthan K Mehta TNN

Mumbai: Central Railway plans to develop Parel station into a terminus for some local trains. The aim is to decongest Dadar by shifting 57 services that originate and terminate there. The project will take three years to implement once it is approved.
A CR official insisted on the term terminal to describe the post-upgrade Parel station, saying that in railway parlance, terminus refers to big stations like CST.
According to the official, one of the reasons behind the plan is that Dadar does not have room for expansion. Not so with Parel. While Dadar in 2009-10 and 2010-11 received 87,712 and 81,743 passengers per day, the corresponding figures for Parel are 22,810 and 26,384. So, with the creation of more platforms—for which there is space—a sizeable chunk of passengers getting off at Dadar or boarding trains from there can be shifted to Parel.
“The move is aimed to divide passenger load equitably between Parel and Dadar,” the official said.
Parel is ideal to take the load off Dadar—a meeting point of the Central and Western lines—because commuters who change lines can get off at the station and take the over-bridge connecting it to Elphinstone Road, which is on the Western line. Another reason for upgrading Parel is that passenger discharge at the station has been increasing in recent years.

Local derails at CST, 100 services hit till evening

Peak Hour Horror: Commuters Delayed By Up To 2 Hours

Manthan K Mehta | TNN

Central Railway commuters were stranded following the derailment of a coach of a Kalyan-bound suburban train soon after it moved out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on Wednesday morning. The incident led to delay and cancellation of approximately 100 services.
At 8.38 am, the CST-Kalyan local moved out of platform number seven. Just four minutes later, the wheel trolley of the sixth coach of the BHELmanufactured 12-car rake derailed. As the problem occurred near a crossover, two lines were blocked and platform numbers seven, eight and nine were out of service till late in the evening.
The affected track was restored for traffic at 9.46 pm.
Bhuddiram (43), a fisherman, suffered an injury to his right leg after he jumped from the train following the derailment. He was admitted to the Railway Hospital at Byculla and paid an ex gratia amount of Rs 5,000 as compensation.
The incident threw the CR timetable awry; several trains ran late by 30 minutes to 2 hours during the morning peak hour. A delay of 20-30 minutes was observed in services in the afternoon hours too – almost six hours after the incident.
Trains were seen bunched up to Masjid and Sandhurst Road stations as the derailment happened just ahead of a crossover, thus blocking access to three platforms. Platform numbers one and two are reserved for Harbour Line services while three to seven are usually used for suburban services. Oustation trains operate from platforms eight to 18.
While there was no visible damage to the tracks, there was some to the tongue rail—a part on the tracks that helps a train cross from one line to another. Rahul Jain, divisional railway manager, CR, said efforts are underway to replace the damaged portion.
A K Singh, public relations officer, Central Railway, said, “All fast line services were diverted on slow lines between Byculla and CST. As many as 31 north-bound fast suburban services were diverted to the slow line between Byculla and CST. Nearly 93 of the total 785 services on the main line were cancelled during the day.” Koyana Express, which leaves CST at 8.40 pm, was cancelled.
Commissioner of railway safety, central circle, will hold an inquiry into the incident. Jain said, “It is premature to speculate on the reason. The rakes will be taken to Kurla car shed, to check whether there was any unit failure.”
Seniors official, including general manager Subodh Jain, rushed to the site to supervize the relief operation.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2011/12/22/5/Img/Pc0051500.jpg

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2011/12/22/Article//010/22_12_2011_010_018.jpg

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_railways-pulls-out-of-bandra-kurla-complex-rail-corridor_1628717

The Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) will not get a suburban railway corridor as planned earlier. The corridor, initially proposed in the original draft of the third phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project, has been dropped from the final approved draft as the BKC will be getting corridors of the Metro Railway and the Monorail.

“A suburban railway corridor to connect Bandra and Kurla had been originally proposed in the third phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project that was first drafted a few years ago. But it has been dropped from the plan as BKC will be criss-crossed by corridors of the Metro and Monorails and a suburban railway will be overlapping the need,’’a senior MRVC official said.

“BKC will not be able to spare additional land for a railway corridor and it will be an unnecessary duplication of works,’’ he added.

The board of directors of the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation had in early December approved the concept plan of the third phase of the Rs 52,000 crore World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project.

The concept plan included eight of new railway corridors, additional trains and focus on the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Top on the priority list is the suburban section are the Virar-Vasai Road-Diva-Panvel section, the fast corridor on the Harbour line between CST for better connectivity to the proposed new international airport in Navi Mumbai.

Eight important new corridors will be implemented in phases by 2031.

CST by Arep Ville.



http://www.arep.fr/front/en/storagefile/inline/3c1a4299bf25d0a9e9c2496e2510fbd0

Rs4,500 crore railway project stuck due to bureaucratic red tape.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_rs4500-crore-railway-project-stuck-due-to-bureaucratic-red-tape_1629050

The delivery of six new nine-car local trains for the Rs4,500 crore,the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) is stuck due to bureaucratic red tape.

The new trains are now urgently needed as the railway is already in the middle of the crucial project wherein direct current power is being upgraded to alternating current. Maharashtra Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) officials said that the reports of the project are currently being studied by the Research Design and Standards Organisation, the research wing of the Indian Railways.

The city's first high-speed local that can achieve a speed of 130kmph, arrived in Mumbai a few months ago but has been stuck in trials and tests for far too long. Until the reports of these tests go to the Integral Coach Factory, the other local trains will not arrive.

The trains, each costing Rs60 crore, are expected to break the 100kmph barrier and run at high speeds beyond Kalyan and Virar stations on the Central Railway and beyond Borivli on the Western Railway.

"There are limitations within the city for such high speeds, but it is easily possible outside city limits. The tracks too need to be equipped to cater to such speeds," a senior MRVC official said.

In fact, the trains were expected to arrive earlier but one of the crucial components went missing at the last moment, delaying the delivery.

The bogies' frames and technology has been brought in from Siemens company in Austria.

"The bogies have bolster-free suspensions, which will give commuters a jerk-free ride and improve riding conditions in Mumbai trains," he added.

While these trains will look just like existing trains, it is their high-speed bogies (wheel sets) that will make all the difference.

^ How are these journos hired? They don't even proof read!

^^^^^^

dont know what red tapism that idiot is talking about...:bash:

Rs4,500 crore railway project stuck due to bureaucratic red tape.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_rs4500-crore-railway-project-stuck-due-to-bureaucratic-red-tape_1629050



The trains, each costing Rs60 crore, are expected to break the 100kmph barrier and run at high speeds beyond Kalyan and Virar stations on the Central Railway and beyond Borivli on the Western Railway.
e added.


any layman staying in mumbai can point out that virar is on western railway :P

^^ Even I can point that out despite visiting the city only once :)

FRESH BLUEPRINT FOR AC LOCALS ON ANVIL

Air-conditioned local trains for the city are back in talks, with the railways research wing at Lucknow preparing a new blueprint for such trains for the Western Railway tracks.

In a bid to catch up with the Metro railways being planned across the country, the railways is in tearing hurry to freeze plans for these special locals, railway officials said.

Confirming the railways’ decision to go ahead with the ambitious project, a senior official said the air-conditioned trains were likely not just in Mumbai but in all the major cities, as part of Indian Railways Vision 2020 programme. In 2007, the railways had planned to run AC trains as a pilot between Churchgate and Borivli on a public-private partnership, but scrapped it following opposition.

In the 2008 rail budget, the then railway minister Lalu Prasad had stated the possibility of introducing AC suburban trains for the city in the 11th Five Year plan by 2012.

It is learnt that top officials of the Research Design and Standards Organisation in Lucknow are already working on the “tough task” of designing AC trains for Mumbai. The Western Railway had also internally prepared one such coach at its Mahalaxmi workshop and taken trials a few years ago. The plan for Mumbai had been earlier rejected as air-conditioned trains required closed doors, which was not possible in the dense crush load that the city’s trains ferry.

Another idea proposed comprised air-curtains to separate the cold air from the warm, but that too did not click. An air-curtain is a ventilation device used for separating two spaces from each other, a downward-facing fan with a powerful jet to help keep outside air out.

The city’s railway think-tank, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, too, had taken up the AC locals plans, but it did not take off due to technicalities. Now, with plans to revive the idea, the railways have taken to chalking out a new blueprint.

As local trains could not be fitted with air-conditioners, it was then decided to install forced ventilation blowers in trains. The “forced ventilation’’ technique was to aid in decrease of carbon dioxide levels in packed trains.

Virar car shed to be ready by April


MUMBAI: After years of delay, state-of-the-art Virar car shed is expected to become operational by the end of this financial year, while 12 stabling lines that will provide berths for empty rakes, is expected to be opened by January 31, 2012.

The project is of immense importance as WR will augment its fleet due to introduction of new rakes and augmentation of existing 9-car rake to 12-car rake. Sharat Chandrayan, Chief Public Relations Officer, WR said, "Being a futuristic project, the cars shed will help us undertake quicker and faster maintenance of rake. The additional stabling lines will also be a boon when new rakes, more services are inducted on WR."

Prakash Rao, Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation, said, "Around 12 rakes can be housed on the stabling lines at Virar Car shed. The car-shed when opened, will be able to carry out maintenance of as many as 30 rakes."

As of now, WR has two car sheds - at Kandivali and Mumbai Central. At Kandivali, berth can be provided for 12/13 rakes, this car shed has the capacity to provide maintenance of not mare than 20 rakes. At Mumbai Central car shed, 50 rakes can under go maintenance, but it can provide berth on stabling lines to not more than 10-12 rakes of."

Rakesh Saksena, Managing Director, MRVC said, "It will be the first car shed in Mumbai to accommodate 15 car rakes. We are confident of opening the stabling lines for trains by Jan 31 and car-shed for maintenance by March 31, 2012."

MRVC had to acquire 2-km marshy land on the west between Nallasopara and Virar. The 220 m wide stretch of land has been reclaimed to set up a carshed. Originally, the first phase of the project was scheduled for completion by 2009. However, the project has been delayed due to initial lack of interest among the contractors and shortage of sands.

The official said, "The tender issued twice in 2006 but had to be cancelled due to factors beyond our control. The work on the project began finally in 2007."

The cost of building phase I of the project is Rs 200 crore. In the second phase, the MRVC plans to spend Rs 150 crore. The Phase II of the work includes building of shed that will increase the capacity for maintenance by 30 more trains."

source (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Virar-car-shed-to-be-ready-by-April/articleshow/11309416.cms)

113-year-old heritage tracks come alive as garden for kids
Published: Monday, Jan 2, 2012, 8:00 IST
By Rajendra Aklekar | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_113-year-old-heritage-tracks-come-alive-as-garden-for-kids_1632334)

Take that, detractors of the city's heritage custodians. A 113-year-old metre gauge rail track, originally used for maintenance of the Tansa pipeline, has been put to recreational use and has been converted into a public garden with a toy train.

Developed in phases over the last few years, the garden in Chittaranjan Nagar, Ghatkopar, now stands as a model for other parks along the track, thanks to the efforts of local elected representatives and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) hydraulic department.

City historians said when the British laid down the pipelines in the mid-1850s, they also laid a network of metre gauge rail tracks and made provision for a small rail vehicle that could run parallel to the pipeline network for its regular maintenance and upkeep.

"The 200m-stretch of track at Ghatkopar has now been enclosed in a garden, which is quite popular with the locals. Efforts to set up the garden began in 2003, which opened in 2005. Initially, the BMC wanted to set up quarters for its staff there, but residents and local representatives fought for the plot and took it for the garden," said a local activist.

Today, the garden is a children's park, boasting of several playthings and a toy train, which runs occasionally.

"It may be used only occasionally, but this garden is an example of Mumbai's heritage being put to good use," said Jivan Gala, who has been living in the area for long.

Railway enthusiasts said heritage railways are a hit abroad and the Ghatkopar garden is modelled on those.

City historian Deepak Rao, who has researched a book, Mumbai's Water, and published it for the BMC, said there were dedicated horsemen who used to ride along the pipes for their regular maintenance.

But those days of upkeep are long gone. While the engine and the wagons used to the run at a very slow speed and used to carry all the necessary tools and the staff required then, today, the rail lines are either buried or pulled out and sold as scrap and the rail vehicles and old locomotives languish at the BMC's pumping stations

Boost to 12-car plan for Harbour line

TNN | Jan 1, 2012, 12.43AM IST
MUMBAI: Twelve-car trains on the Harbour line may soon be a reality as the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has started preliminary work on the layout of the stations, where the platforms need to be extended.

According to MRVC officials, the project is likely to be approved in the forthcoming Railway Budget.

"We started preparing the layout for the stations nearly 15 days ago. We will take two months to complete the exercise," said Rakesh Saksena, managing director of the MRVC. Officials plan to start inviting tenders after the project is approved by the railway ministry.


"Introducing 12-car rakes on Harbour line is a necessity, therefore it is better to start the groundwork first. The cost of making platforms compatible with the 12-car rakes will be Rs 800 crore," a senior MRVC official said.

"Apart from increasing the platforms' length, the railway officials will have to change the locations of signals and modify overhead equipment. There are challenges in execution of the work especially at the Cotton Green, Sandhurst Road and Dockyard Road stations that are elevated," the official added.

Technical experts feel the railways will be able to complete the exercise in three years. The total number of services on CR is 1573 that also includes 208 services on Thane-Vashi-Nerul-Panvel route (trans-Harbour line). As many as 580 services ply the Harbour line route, of which 172 services operate between CST and Andheri.

The Central Railway (CR) administration has already converted all its 785 services on the Main line to 12-car and increased the passenger-carrying capacity per train by 33%. There has been a gradual increase in passengers on the Harbour line after the services were extended up to Panvel. The growth in the Vashi-Panvel belt due to the Navi Mumbai international airport will increase the load per train.

The concept plan approved for ventures to be undertaken under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (III) pegs the annual growth of passengers on the CR (Main line) and the Western Railway at 3% approximately.

Whereas, the Harbour line and trans-Harbour networks have witnessed 10% growth in passengers. The MRVC officials have approved a feasibility report for the CST-Panvel high speed corridor, which will provide connectivity between south Mumbai and the international airport at Navi Mumbai.

The cost of making platforms compatible with the 12-car rakes will be Rs 800 crore. The railway officials will have to change the locations of signals near the tracks.

Elevated rail corridor plans may see major changes\
TNN | Jan 3, 2012, 07.08AM IST

MUMBAI: Western Railways' plans for a 60-km elevated high-speed rail corridor from Churchgate to Virar may undergo major changes due to concerns over cost and space.

Lack of funds may force officials to reduce the underground component from Churchgate-Mumbai Central to Churchgate-Grant Road and there will not be any station at Vile Parle due to lack of space. The option of acquiring land is difficult due to astronomical land prices in the suburb, which is home to reputed educational institutes, besides being close to the domestic airport.

A joint taskforce, which comprises senior officials from the state government and Western Railway, has been formed to look into issues related to land acquisition, floor space index and mode of funding, before work begins on the ground.

The taskforce is not inclined to build the station and is keen to curtail the underground portion to save costs, which are likely to be more than Rs1,500 crore.

A senior official said, "It is unlikely the station will come at Vile Parle due to paucity of land. The area adjacent to the railway tracks is developed and it will not be possible to acquire the land as the cost of it in this suburb is among the costliest in Mumbai."

Vile Parle falls between Andheri and Santa Cruz stations on the Western Railway route. The official said, "The distance between Santa Cruz and Andheri is 4km and Vile Parle is in the middle. Commuters will not be inconvenienced much as they can travel to either station to board a high-speed elevated local."

Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer, WR, confirmed discussions about Vile Parle but said nothing had been finalized.

The taskforce felt the underground portion should either be terminated at Mahalaxmi or Grant Road stations.

"Building an underground network is costly and complicated; the cost is three times more than an elevated section. Moreover, adequate safety measures have to be in place in the underground network by way of providing proper ventilation and access points to deal with an emergency. The shorter the underground portion, the better," the official said.

Beyond Mahalaxmi/Grant Road, the track will be elevated up to Santa Cruz station. Between Vile Parle and Andheri, where the airport is, the track will be at the ground level alongside the existing tracks as the area falls in the funnel of aircraft taking off.

The track will be elevated between Andheri and Dahisar and later run at the ground level at Mira Road but will again be elevated just before Bhayander. It will again come down to the track level between Naigaon and Vasai, and then again be elevated till Virar.

State urban development principal secretary T C Benjamin, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority ( MMRDA) commissioner Rahul Asthana, and Western Railway principal chief engineer and chief administrative officer (construction) V Srihari and municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar are taskforce members.

The taskforce will finalize details like the alignment of the elevated corridor, After that, a detailed engineering and financial study will be carried out.

http://www.thelearningpoint.net/_/rsrc/1318137538144/photoblog/insidemumbaivtstation/Inside%20Victoria%20Terminus%20Mumbai%20CST%20VT%20%285%29.JPG?height=300&width=400
http://www.thelearningpoint.net/photoblog/insidemumbaivtstation

Seems terminal stations like CST/Chruchgate dont need escalators to foot overbridge as people can cross at ground level at the end of platforms :cheers:

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/after-46-years-rail-bus-to-chug-up-to-matheran-again/895099/
After 46 years, rail bus to chug up to Matheran again

Mumbai: The rail bus, which had been phased out around 46 years, will soon run on the tracks up to Matheran on the mini rails. Though the 80-year-old vintage rail bus cannot be revived due to lack of spare parts, following a request from the state government, the Central Railway (CR) has decided to run new rail buses. Recently, a tender was floated for three rail buses.
“Around a year ago, MMRDA officials asked Railways to run the rail buses between Dasturi Naka and Matheran station as beyond Dasturi naka there is no means of transport up to Matheran except the toy train. MMRDA deposited Rs 5 crore with Railways for the rail buses,” said a senior official.

Apart from tourists, it will also be beneficial for villagers living beyond Dasturi naka and people who come by road and have to walk up to Matheran — which is 3 km away— or use horses, cycles or hand-pulled rickshaws as no vehicle is permitted beyond Dasturi naka.

As soon as MMRDA deposited the money, the Railways called for bidders. There were two bidders for the tender, but a Patna-based company Phooltas, which provided rail buses for meter gauge sections in Railways, is the frontrunner. This will be first rail bus for narrow gauge for the company and each rail bus will cost Rs 1.30 crore.

“The rail buses can also be attached to couplers. Though they will look like ordinary buses, they will have driving cabs on both ends, separated by a glass panel door. This diesel bus will be able to ferry around 12 passengers at a time at the speed of 20 kmph,’’ the official added.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2012/01/05/Article//007/05_01_2012_007_009.jpg

MD (http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/jan/050112-Plan-to-link-all-3-railway-lines-north-of-city.htm)

To provide an alternative to commuters forced to travel to Dadar, Kurla or Wadala if they want to switch lines, MRVC considers a Panvel-Diva-Virar rail corridor for an east-west link in the far-off northern suburbs
In order to make travel more convenient for the 70 lakh suburban train commuters who are left with no option but to come all the way till Dadar, Kurla or Wadala if they want to switch between Western, Central and Harbour lines, MRVC officials are mulling a plan to interlink the northern extremes on the three lines. The plan proposes east-to-west connectivity on the Panvel-Diva-Virar corridor.

http://www.mid-day.com/imagedata/2012/jan/railway.jpg

The planning agency of Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) will soon meet with senior railway officials in the Capital to discuss the matter. A senior official from MRVC said, "We will hold a meeting with railway officials in Delhi in the first week of January. Our priority is to ensure that during the Union railway budget, money is allotted to at least carry out a feasibility study for the proposed connectivity."

Once a marginal sum is allotted in the budget for analysing and studying the feasibility, things could fall in place, sources say. Presently, there are two tracks on the Panvel-Diva-Virar section which are used by goods trains, and sometimes, long-distance trains. The railway officials feel that it is impossible to run suburban services on the existing stretch due to the heavy goods trains traffic.

As per the initial plan agreed to by the state government and the railways, two more lines would be created to connect east and west on the three lines. "The proposal is in the planning stage and we are yet to work out the costs involved," said Prakashrao Vazalwar, Chief PRO, MRVC.

It was nearly a month back when the state government approved the new corridor, including this one. Considering the growing demand for better and enhanced connectivity from commuters in these areas, the project is deemed helpful and necessary. The state has given the in-principle approval for the feasibility study at an approximate cost of Rs 10 crore. Sources added that consultancy firm RITES is most likely to conduct the feasibility study.

Sources said that officials will also have to figure out a way to acquire portions of land for laying tracks, levelling of land and other works.

There is also a proposal for having a fast corridor on the 60-km Harbour line running from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Panvel. Currently, there is a Thane-Panvel Trans Harbour line run by the Central Railway with over 100 services every day

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_virar-panvel-local-plan-on-fast-track_1633970
Virar-Panvel local plan on fast track

Now, the Railways have begun looking at east-west connectivity and the far-flung suburbs of Panvel and Diva to decongest local trains. Work on the preliminary engineering survey to run local trains between Virar and Panvel, via the Diva line, has begun with the Maharashtra government pushing for this corridor on a priority basis, in addition to building a fast corridor on the harbour line.

“The work of studying and doing a preliminary engineering and traffic survey was initially assigned to the Central Railway, but has now been transferred to the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC). The MRVC has plans to assign the work to Rail India Technical Services (RITES), a railway consultancy firm for doing a feasibility study,’’ a senior official said.

The line is expected to boost connectivity in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region that is being planned and developed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

Right now, there are two lines between the satellite townships of Virar and Panvel and are mostly used by national passenger and freight trains going to Konkan Railway and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, he said.

The Rs10-crore feasibility study of the project will assess the rail alignment, the network connectivity and other technical matters before work begins. The third line will be built with requirements of suburban trains in mind.

Suburban trains have different requirements compared to outstation express and freight trains. While outstation trains are 10feet wide, suburban trains require a wider space of 12feet. This calls for wider clearances and specific measurements for overhead masts and platforms. The study will include all these aspects.

The Maharashtra government has also recommended expediting the fast corridor on the harbour line to give boost to the new airport that is being planned near Panvel.

The study of the fast corridor on the harbour line will also be given to RITES.

Land may be needed for these projects from the state government which has been promised as per the requirements

http://www.livemint.com/2012/01/05233427/Govt-MRVC-to-develop-rail-lin.html?h=B
Govt, MRVC to develop rail link jointly
According to MRVC managing director Rakesh Saxena, a techno-economic feasibility study for the project has been ordered

Mumbai: The Maharashra government and Mumbai Rail Vikas Corp. Ltd (MRVC) will jointly develop a fast railway corridor between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Panvel along the harbour line of Mumbai’s suburban railway network that will provide connectivity from south Mumbai to the proposed international airport at Navi Mumbai.

“The expected project cost is around Rs. 7,500 crore. We’re aiming to make this new fast track connectivity operational by 2015,” said T.C. Benjamin, Maharashtra government’s principal secretary of urban development.

According to MRVC managing director Rakesh Saxena, a techno-economic feasibility study for the project has been ordered.

The corporation hopes to complete it in the next four to six months, Saxena said.

As the proposed fast rail corridor will use the space available along the existing harbour railway track, the land acquisition needed will be minimum, Benjamin said.

Maharashtra government’s township development arm, City and Industrial Development Corp., and MRVC will be the nodal agencies for the project but the project will be given to a private company and will be developed on a build-operate-transfer basis, Benjamin said.

The proposed sealink is being developed by another Maharashtra government agency, Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority.

While outstation trains are 10feet wide, suburban trains require a wider space of 12feet.

Is it correct? I have seen suburban EMUs and long distance trains using same platform. If there is so much difference in width, then they cannot share platforms.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2012/01/07/Article//008/07_01_2012_008_005.jpg

Is it correct? I have seen suburban EMUs and long distance trains using same platform. If there is so much difference in width, then they cannot share platforms.

This is correct. The Suburban platforms are designed to handle both. I guess that is the reson why MEMUs are used outside the metropolitian areas as they are cannot share platforms with EMUs.

This is correct. The Suburban platforms are designed to handle both.

If suburban platforms can handle both, then there will be 1 foot gap between a long distance train and platform (because it is 2 feet narrower than suburban).

If suburban platforms can handle both, then there will be 1 foot gap between a long distance train and platform (because it is 2 feet narrower than suburban).

I think there is some confusion. The EMUs (Jessop or RCF made) are 12 ft wide at their widest points. In case of a Jessop rake the widest point is around the window and the car body actually curves inwards above and below this point. In the RCF rake the widest point is slightly below the window but still much above the platform level. Above and below this point the body is sloped inwards.

Generally EMUs, MEMUs and regular trains can utilize the same platforms. However for running EMUs some adjustment has to be done to the tracks especially around curves since the extra wide cars do not come too close to each other, the platforms or any structure adjacent to the tracks.

MEMUs do not require any realignment in the track since they are made from the same rolling stock as regular passenger train cars.

You mean, these trains bulge outwards by 1 feet on both sides compared to the footboard level while other trains are flat?

You mean, these trains bulge outwards by 1 feet on both sides compared to the footboard level while other trains are flat?
Yes

Won't that be risky for people standing on the platforms because train's footprint would be 1 feet inside the platform?

Won't that be risky for people standing on the platforms because train's footprint would be 1 feet inside the platform?

That amount of area from platform edges is tiled indicating one should not stand beyond that point and tiled in the sense they are of rough quality so even durin monsoons when people jump out of train when nearin to stop people dont slip and fall

^^ Oh.. Thanks.

TOI (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-26/patna/30558610_1_local-trains-bogie-foreign-railways)

Plan to run local AC trains hanging fire

PATNA: The ambitious project of railways to manufacture AC local trains is still hanging fire. However, the railways has decided in principle to manufacture AC local trains for metropolitan cities and other crowded zones of railways.

Railways could mull over the proposal to run AC local trains at places where traffic volume has reached saturation point. Patna Junction, incidentally, is one of the most crowded stations of railways.

According to a Railway Board official, modernization has been going on in railways as a part of Vision 2020 plan. As a part of it, Railways intends to match foreign railways by introducing AC local trains, he said, adding that a blueprint has already been prepared in this regard.

The official said though railways has tested the prototype AC bogie successfully, it has not got the final nod for manufacturing such bogies for local trains, even though it is keen to introduce AC local trains soon, first in Western Railway (WR), to cope with rush of local passengers, he said .

Sources said railways had earlier approved the plan for Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation ( MRVC). But it could not materialize for some reasons. However, railways took a fresh stock of the situation and decided in principle to provide AC local passenger trains at places where feasibility to run such trains is very high, sources said .

A Railway Board official said the Research, Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) in Lucknow had recently prepared a new blueprint for manufacturing AC local train coaches. The cost of each AC bogie is likely to be between Rs 50 to Rs 60 lakh, he said .

Sources said the delay on the part of railways is due to hitch on AC local bogie doors. "Unless doors are fully closed, AC local train cannot move an inch. At a place where the number of commuters is too high or they are in habit of travelling on footboard, AC local trains would not be successful," sources said, adding railways is thus giving a fresh thought before launching AC local trains on the crowded routes across the country.

According to sources, the Western Railway (WR) had earlier converted a coach to an AC bogie at an additional cost of about Rs 17 lakh. It was introduced between Mumbai Central and Bandra for several days. Finally this service was withdrawn as the WR did not get permission from higher authorities. Similarly, the proposal to run an AC local between Mumbai Terminal and Kalyan was rejected by railways following protests from passengers that the railways was simply wasting its resources, sources said.

A Board official said that AC local trains are, however, need of the time to cater to the needs of local passengers on the pattern of foreign railways.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/462/mutpiii.jpg

Source: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2012011620120116020508890749402f0/New-FOB-at-CST%E2%80%99s-north-end-to-ease-crowd.html

The five-metre foot-overbridge will connect the seven suburban platforms with the 11 outstation ones; to be ready by December

Central Railway has decided to build a foot-overbridge (FOB) at the northern end of the sprawling Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in an attempt to balance it out. The FOB will connect the seven suburban platforms with the 11 outstation train platforms.

“Work on the five-metre-wide FOB, which will be among the longest in the city, has begun on the eastern periphery of the terminus,” said an official. “It will cost around Rs 5-8 crores and is expected to be completed by December this year.”

The decision came after railway authorities realised that the terminus, after a number of expansions over the years, is far more crowded at its southern end.

Currently, CST has 18 platforms. The first seven are used for suburban trains while the others are for long-distance, outstation trains.

Officials said that because they are not connected properly, a commuter who gets off a train on platform number 18 (at the northern end) needs to walk at least one kilometre to catch a local train. The same is true for one who wants to take a long-distance train after taking a local train.

“It is unfair to ask a long-distance passenger to walk this much, carrying his/her luggage,” said a senior CR official. “The northern tip of platform number 18 is closer to Masjid than it is to CST. Except for the FOB on the northern end of the station which connects platforms one to seven, there is no other place in the north-western part of the terminus from where people can enter.”

Thus a large number of commuters enter the station either from the entrance close to the General Post Office or the subway opposite the BMC headquarters, both at the Southern end.

“The plan is to build the new FOB with a connection to DN Road,” said one of the planners of the bridge. “A connection will be made to the old FOB at platform number 4. The connector will then connect all 18 platforms, and finally land close to the garden on the east of platform number 18.”

The new plan is the biggest since the ambitious northern entrance plan was chalked out for CST five years ago.

Under that plan, state government land was to be acquired close to Haj House to create a landing for a much wider FOB running across CST’s northern tip. Technical and financial hindrances in acquiring land stalled that plan.

• A connection will be made to the old FOB at platform number 4. The connector will then connect all 18 platforms - Senior official, Central Railway

DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_ac-mumbai-local-plan-for-two-new-corridors-put-on-fast-track_1638504)
AC Mumbai local plan for two new corridors put on fast track
Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Air-conditioned (AC) locals, branded trains, a separate fare structure with stand-alone operations. The ambitious city railway project to take the suburban local trains to the next level has formally begun with the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), the city’s railway think-tank, drawing up detailed guidelines for the two new proposed corridors Virar-Panvel and CST-Panvel fast line.

The guidelines have been provided and the process for appointment of a consultant to carry out financial feasibility study has now been started formally.

“Yes. The study has proposed to look at these two new rail corridors as separate projects. They will have standalone, separate infrastructure with rolling stock and control room. Some of the stations of the Indian Railways may be shared but platforms may be kept separate. The objective would be to provide better and more comfortable services (like air-conditioned services and branding of trains i.e. different categories of commuter trains),’’ a top official confirmed.

“Two corridors have been proposed. A 49-km Fast Rail Corridor on public-private partnership (PPP) basis between CST and Panvel to improve connectivity and facilitate regional development as traffic is expected to be doubled on this line by 2021 and a new airport has been planned. The second is a 76-km rail corridor on PPP basis between Virar-Vasai Road and Panvel to improve connectivity and facilitate regional development and better for east west connectivity,’’ he added.

Asked whether trains on the new corridor will have a separate fare structure, he said the consultant has been asked to consider and present different scenarios of fare-based revenues from the project and generate alternate scenarios of possible fares with reference to the existing fare on local trains, the cost of other modes of public and private transport and the fare typically charged by metro projects for such distances.

Giving details on the land, he said the railways ministry would lease its own land to the extent possible to MRVC and also acquire additional land with the assistance of the state government.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_dahanu-local-not-possible-wr-tells-hc_1639321

Commuters can shelve their hopes of having direct local trains from Churchgate to Dahanu Road and Virar to Dahanu Road.
The Western Railways (WR) has informed the Bombay high court that it will not be feasible to start direct train services from Churchgate to Dahanu Road and Virar to Dahanu Road due to non-availability of sources like rakes and trains.

An affidavit was filed by PI Kurian, deputy chief operations manager of WR, in the high court on Wednesday, saying: "With present resources like availability of rakes and EMUs (trains), running direct services between Churchgate and Dahanu Road is not possible."

The affidavit adds: "Western Railways intends to run EMU services between Churchgate and Dahanu Road but it can be done only when rakes are available. At present, WR had 76 EMU rakes. There is a compelling need to increase services in Mumbai also."

The WR has already provided ten shuttle services between Virar and Dahanu Road to Vapi and Surat. "The tracks between Virar and Dahanu Road are at present being utilised above their capacity. Introduction of new services may result in curtailment of time required for maintenance, which may lead to accidents," the affidavit states.

The affidavit was in reply to a public interest litigation filed by a municipal corporator of the Vasai and Virar Municipal Corporation, Rajkumar Chorge, seeking that the railways be directed to start direct local trains from Churchgate to Dahanu Road. At present direct trains ply only till Virar.

The PIL contends that the railways have been delaying the project for several years. There are shuttle services from Virar to Dahanu Road, but they are so few that occasionally, people have to wait for over six hours, contends the PIL.

A Almeida, advocate for the petitioner, argued that with an ever-growing population settling down in areas north of Virar, there is an urgent need for direct trains.

Currently, commuters must alight at Virar and then change trains to reach their destination. Almeida said, "For this reason, we have prayed that the railways be directed to start the service from Churchgate to Dahanu."

:bash: where did the old trains go????

^^ The old trains ran on DC traction . Now with the conversion of the traction from DC to AC the old rakes will have to be retrofitted to run on AC traction.. SO they cannot be run on this section.

Dam! Yes how could I forget that....

31 escalators planned for nine local stations

8 Of The Escalators Are Expected To Be Ready For Use By June 2013
Manthan K Mehta | TNN


The citys suburban rail commuters can look forward to the comfort of using escalators at as many as nine stations within the next two years.Two separate initiatives,by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) as well as the Railway Board,seek to build 31 escalators by July 2014 at Dadar,Kurla,Ghatkopar,Thane,Dombivli and Kalyan on Central Railway (CR) and Andheri,Goregaon and Borivli on Western Railway (WR).
Rail officials said that besides the greater ease for commuters,passenger dispersal from platforms and stations will be quicker with the escalators.
The MRVC has drawn up plans to build 23 escalators as part of the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project (II).The proposal has been sent to the Railway Board for approval after which the World Banks nod will be sought.At Rs 75 lakh each,including maintenance for three years,the 23 escalators will cost Rs 17.25 crore.Officials said they are expected to be built from July 2013 to July 2014.
Meanwhile,eight escalators escalators will be installed as part of a contract already handed out by the Railway Board.The Indian Railways has awarded a contract for 100 escalators at stations across the country to two firms on January 2,2012.As per the terms and conditions of the contracts,the escalators have to be installed within 18 months,or by July 2013.A senior railway official said,As per the Railway Board contract,two escalators each will be installed at Dadar,Kalyan and Thane station on CR and one each at Andheri and Borivali on WR.
According to the MRVC proposal,10 escalators will come up at Dadar,Kurla,Ghatkopar and Dombivli on CR and 13 at Andheri and Goregaon on WR.
Goregaon will get seven escalators and Andheri six.An MRVC official said,The Andheri and Goregaon booking offices will be shifted to an elevated deck to generate space for extending the Harbour Line up to Goregaon.The work of the escalators will be taken up as part of the modernization of the two stations.
On CR,an MRVC official said,We have indentified the locations where the escalators will be installed,but the final approval is yet to be given.On CR,escalators may come up earlier than WR.
As per the MRVC specifications,the heavy-duty escalators will be one metre wide and will climb to six metres,the average height at which foot over-bridges in Mumbai are built.Each escalator would be capable of carrying 9,000 commuters an hour.The MRVC official added,If the escalators run successfully,the railways may build them at all local stations later.
The MRVC official said,Unlike in malls or the Delhi Metro,the escalators at Mumbais stations will not be in enclosed buildings.Hence,the most rugged type of escalators will be used so that they can withstand any climatic condition,including dust and heavy rain.

CLIMB IN COMFORT

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation proposes to build 23 escalators 10 will be at Central Railway stations Dadar,Kurla,Ghatkopar and Dombivli 13 will be on Western Railway Andheri (6) and Goregaon (7) The escalators are expected to be completed by July 2014 They will be 1 metre wide and climb to 6 metres Carrying capacity will be 9,000 people and hour Each escalator will cost 75 lakh,including the 3-year maintenance contract
The Railway Board has given contracts to build 8 escalators
6 will be on Central Railway Dadar (2),Thane (2) and Kalyan (2)
2 will be on Western Railway Andheri and Borivli
The escalators are expected to be ready by July 2013

Final WR stretch to see DC-AC switch on Feb 5

Manthan K Mehta | TNN

In a move that will help increase the number of rakes on trains from nine cars to 12, Western Railway (WR) will switch from the 1,500 volt Direct Current (DC) to the 25,000 volt energy-saving Alternating Current (AC) traction system on February 5. WR authorities had carried out the DC to AC conversion on the section between Vile Parle and Borivli on November 13. But the move to convert the remaining section up to Churchgate was delayed. The section will be blocked for approximately five to six hours during the day for the conversion to take place.
The commissioner of railway safety (CRS), Western Circle, had refused to grant approval unless the height of 10 bridges was raised to ensure an adequate gap between the bridge base and the overhead wires. WR then sought a waiver from the railway ministry to overturn CRS’s objections if safety is not compromised. The waiver was granted.
Sharat Chandrayan, chief PRO of WR said: “Commuters will be informed about the block and timings of trains well in advance. We will also run special services. Once the Churchgate-Borivli stretch is converted to AC, it will integrate the suburban system with other sections.” As of now, 1,002 services ply using 12-car rakes, while 12 services are run with 15-car trains. WR uses seven 9-car rakes (100 services). With the conversion, WR will net carbon credits worth Rs 2 crore a year because it utilizes rakes with regenerative braking features, that can help save up to 30% energy as the traction motor feeds some of the current back into the supply system.

Mega block this Sunday on WR & CR

Due to the mega block on January 22, north-bound slow services from Mulund on the Central line will be diverted to the fast track between Mulund and Kalyan stations from 10.35am to 3.37pm. Slow-line north-bound services will not be available at CR’s Kalva, Mumbra, Diva, Kopar and Thakurli stations during the block period. Passengers are permitted to travel via Dombivli and Kalyan stations in the south-bound (up) direction. On the Harbour line, services between Belapur and Vashi will be cancelled from 10.48am to 4.01pm. Trans-harbour line services to Panvel and Nerul will be cancelled from 11am to 3.30pm. Harbour line services from Panvel to Andheri will also be suspended during the mega block.
WR, too, will also be holding a mega block the same day between Santa Cruz and Goregaon stations from 10.35am to 3.35pm on the slow train track. During the block period, all northand south-bound slow trains will operate on the fast lines between these two stations. Twelve-car slow trains will halt twice at Vile Parle station on platform no. 3 and 4.

RPF to record footage of suburban rly commuters


Manthan K Mehta TNN

Mumbai: Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel will shoot videos of commuters at suburban stations to prevent crime. The move will act as a deterrent to criminals who take advantage of overcrowded trains and platforms to target their victims, claim officials.
Alok Bohra, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF, Mumbai division, said, “Instructions have been issued to our personnel to randomly shoot the video with hand-held cameras or mobile phones at any of the suburban stations or trains in Mumbai’s suburban network. We have not been assigned any particular time, day or spot to carry out the shooting as there has to be an element of surprise to catch the culprit off guard.”
RPF had earlier introduced this technique to record queues of passengers waiting to board general compartments of longdistance trains after allegations of corruption against some of its personnel, who helped commuters jump the queue. RPF decided to use handy-cams to record footage inside general compartments of long-distance
trains due to increasing instances of passengers being drugged by criminals. Officials added that this step would help them identify men illegally travelling in ladies compartments.
Bohra, who was instrumental in introducing video recording in the rail-roko agitation in Mumbai, said, “The shooting of videos can help curb crimes and the footage comes in handy while tracking criminals. We have closed-circuit television cameras, but these have limitations because it cannot capture images at certain angles.” Women personnel will also enter the ladies compartment, whose commuters are often chain-snatching victims, to shoot the scene inside.
Subhash Gupta, former member, National Rail Users Consultative Committee said, “Railway authorities should install CCTV cameras in all the coaches as is the case in Metro rail at Delhi.” Railway officials have claimed it is not practical as the cameras may be tampered with or stolen.
However, Gupta said, “They should try by first installing CCTVs in ladies compartment. Gradually, the general compartment can be covered. The administration should also install a mix of actual and dummy cameras, which can also act as a deterrent

Sr citizen crushed to death between train, platform

Kalyan: A 66-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh met a horrific end when he slipped and fell while trying to board a train at Kalyan station on Saturday. The railway authorities took almost two hours to extricate his body, which had got entangled between the footboard of one of the coaches of Saket Express and the platform.

A resident of a village in Sutanpur, UP, Devi Prasad Mishra had come to Mumbai to meet his grandson who had been hospitalized. On Saturday, he, along with his daughter Sakuntala Tiwari and sonin-law Satydev Tiwari, was on his way back home when the accident occurred.

The train to UP was waiting on platform 4 at the station around 7am. “My sister and her husband entered the train first,” said Mishra’s son, Jay Shankar. “As my father was about to board the train, he missed a step and fell. Instead of landing on the platform, he got stuck in the narrow gap between the platform and the train’s footboard.” Immediately his family members rushed to the railway officials who came to the spot and tried to rescue him, but to no avail. Short of breath and being crushed in the gap, Mishra’s agony continued even as the officials strived to rescue him. Finally, a team got hydraulic machines and a gas cutter to hack off a part of the footboard, but by the time he was pulled onto the platform, he had died, an official said. He was taken to Rukminibai Hospital in Kalyan, where he was declared dead. “The deceased died as his chest had been crushed,” said Dr Rohini Davle from the hospital.

Blaming the railways, Mishra’s family alleged that had the gap between the platform and the train not been so wide, the mishap would not have occurred. “For 50 minutes, he was writhing in pain but the officials failed to rescue him. The delay cost him his life,” said a relative. But CR PRO A K Singh denied any negligence: “Our medical and technical teams tried their best to rescue the man.” He also said the gap between the train and platform was according to the prescribed measurement. The railways has paid Rs 15,000 to the family as compensation. Singh has assured the relatives, who are disgruntled with the “paltry sum”, that the railways would pay them more and the amount would be decided by senior officials.



http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2012/01/22/5/Img/Pc0051600.jpg

SHAME! The Railways take years to approve a FOB/ROB citing Safety Reasons and forces firms to come up with Revised plans. BUT when it comes to their OWN safety standards, NIL !

Why doesn't Bombay HC initiate a Suo-moto PIL Action against these &*#@%^%#@& !! This is not the first time that an incident of this nature has happened. Been reading stories all throughout the last few years. HIGH TIME now.

Can we come up with something against this?? There are so many stations, so many platforms not confirming to even their so called "standards" that cause these mishaps. Sad news to start the Sunday :ohno:

Sr citizen crushed to death between train, platform




http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2012/01/22/5/Img/Pc0051600.jpg

SHAME! The Railways take years to approve a FOB/ROB citing Safety Reasons and forces firms to come up with Revised plans. BUT when it comes to their OWN safety standards, NIL !

Why doesn't Bombay HC initiate a Suo-moto PIL Action against these &*#@%^%#@& !! This is not the first time that an incident of this nature has happened. Been reading stories all throughout the last few years. HIGH TIME now.

Can we come up with something against this?? There are so many stations, so many platforms not confirming to even their so called "standards" that cause these mishaps. Sad news to start the Sunday :ohno:

Shame indeed... my mother herself faced this situation on Raurkella station, when she slipped under the train cause of the stairs of train and the train started to roll... she was lucky though... my paternal uncle took a hold on her with one foot tangled in stairs and body sliding on platform until the chain was pulled and train stopped... Army people (my uncle in this context) are real brave and powerful...

CST’s revamp plan runs into heritage trouble

Manthan K Mehta TNN

Mumbai: The Central Railway’s plan to convert the heritage Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus into a world-class station hit a hurdle after the railway ministry disapproved of the design prepared by the consultants.
“A few days ago, the railway ministry did not agree with several aspects, including the plan to build a glass-encased structure on the vacant land adjacent to P D’Mello Road,” a senior official said. “There was also a plan to construct a fibre-and-glass roof, in the pergola style, over the passage from DRM building to the heritage part.”
The proposed master plan envisaged a multi-storey luxury hotel and commercial buildings at Carnac Bunder. Though the new structures would not have marred the look of the heritage side of CST, the ministry was unhappy as it felt that the design did not match up to the grandeur of the old heritage section, said the official, adding that the CR, would however, not rework on the parts of the proposal “that did not disturb the beauty of the old building”.
The objective of the revamp is to improve the circulation area, enhance facilities for commuters, remodel the yard and create exclusive areas for pedestrians at CST, one of the busiest stations in the city used by both local and long-distance trains. The railway has decided to follow the Public Private Partnership scheme for the redevelopment, for which, it roped in consultancy firms Arep Ville and Egis Rail India. The entire project is estimated to cost Rs 1,800 crore.
Under the new plan, a pedestrian subway will be built under the suburban platforms, after pulling down the existing foot overbdrige. All the add-ons to the heritage building, including the extra floor in the annexe building, extended toilet and TA building, will also be demolished.

Sr citizen crushed to death between train, platform




http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2012/01/22/5/Img/Pc0051600.jpg

SHAME! The Railways take years to approve a FOB/ROB citing Safety Reasons and forces firms to come up with Revised plans. BUT when it comes to their OWN safety standards, NIL !

Why doesn't Bombay HC initiate a Suo-moto PIL Action against these &*#@%^%#@& !! This is not the first time that an incident of this nature has happened. Been reading stories all throughout the last few years. HIGH TIME now.

Can we come up with something against this?? There are so many stations, so many platforms not confirming to even their so called "standards" that cause these mishaps. Sad news to start the Sunday :ohno:

nothing new, railways should employ a guard at platform like in metro stations. railways has more than a lakh vacancy in safety positions :bash:

Women Dead After Trying To Catch(Chamundi Exp) a Running Train in Mysore

eRSBNGGHpl4

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/jan/250112-CST-Panvel-line-may-run-fully-AC-trains.htm

The exceptionally low temperatures in northern India have led to the mercury closing in on single digits in the city in recent days. But the scorching, sweltering summers aren't far away and no one appreciates the malady more than a suburban rail commuter. Which is why an air-conditioned local train is the dream of most of the 69 lakh daily passengers on Western and Central Railways in Mumbai. And it seems they might soon get their wish.

The proposed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST)-Panvel fast corridor -- connecting the city to Navi Mumbai -- is likely to have the distinction of becoming the first route to run fully air-conditioned trains. These services could be extended till the planned airport at Panvel, which will be ready in about another five years.

Need for speed
Only last week, railway officials from Mumbai held discussions with the railway board in Delhi, asking them to give shape to their proposal. There are two projected suburban rail corridors -- CST-Panvel fast line and Virar-Vasai-Diva-Panvel, which railway officials feel are ideal for having AC services. The cost of the two new lines is pegged at around Rs 20,000 crore.

"The fast corridor on harbour line would have the required ridership for us to propose AC train services," said Rakesh Saxena, Managing Director, Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC). The number of commuters per day on the harbour line is expected to reach 15 lakh from the present 10 lakh in another three years. Of these, authorities expect around 3 lakh travellers to use the fast corridor.

Railway authorities are also looking at reducing the travel time on this 60-km route from 75 minutes to around 40 minutes with the help of the fast line, which would not have more than seven halts.

Train of thought
Railway officials say that they haven't yet decided on the number of bogies and the project could start with six-coach AC trains. "These trains might run once every 15 minutes. We could increase the frequency depending on demand," said an official.

The authorities also discussed the financial model for implementing this prodigious project and the issue of involving private companies was also mooted. As per the deliberations, the project would be a public private partnership (PPP), although the financing pattern hasn't been decided yet. The venture would involve Indian Railways, City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) and the private company.

In a bid to make the concern financially viable, the railways are looking at creating a separate entity for handing the operations. "We are exploring the possibility of setting up fares for AC train services in accordance with metro and monorail. Those who can afford or are willing to pay will definitely travel," added the railway official.

Apart from this, authorities are also mulling commercial development of station buildings by having shopping malls and business outlets. Global tenders are likely to be called soon for private companies to participate in construction of these corridors, starting with the CST-Panvel fast line. Railways would also discuss the scope for land acquisition for this project with the state government.

CBD Belapur station

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/125/20120127143924.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/442/20120127143924.jpg/) Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2012/01/28/Article//008/28_01_2012_008_028.jpg

PASSENGER-CARRYING CAPACITY TO RISE 33%
All Harbour line trains to get 12 coaches

Manthan K Mehta | TNN

Mumbai: In an important development,the cabinet subcommittee on infrastructure has cleared the proposal to convert all nine-car trains into 12-car ones on the Harbour line.This will increase the passenger-carrying capacity by 33%.
A senior official said,The cabinet sub-committee gave its approval a couple of days ago.It is a forward-moving development,considering that 12-car trains are going to become a necessity on the Harbour line.The project may find a mention in the railway budget.
According to estimates,passenger growth on the Harbour Line stood at 10% per annum as against 3% registered by the Main line of Central Railway as well as the Western Railway.
The total number of services on CR is 1,573,which also includes 208 services on the Thane-Vashi-Nerul-Panvel- Trans-Harbour route.As many as 580 services are on Harbour line,of which 172 services operate between CST and Bandra,and CST and Andheri.
As of now,all the 785 services on the Main line of the Central Railway have been converted into 12 cars.Western Railway has also assured that their services will be converted to 12 cars by March-April.
In anticipation of the project getting a mention in the railway budget,Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has already begun preparing the layout of the stations whose platforms will have to undergo modification to accommodate 12-car trains.
By carrying out the process at this stage,MRVC will be well-prepared to issue tenders as soon as the budgetary approval comes in.The process will be complete in less than two months. MRVC expects to complete the project in three years once work begins on the ground.
Total work on this project,including augmentation of the existing nine-car fleet to 12 cars,is estimated to cost Rs 800 crore.Apart from increasing the length of the platforms,the railway will also have to make changes in the location of signals,besides altering the overhead equipment.

nothing new, railways should employ a guard at platform like in metro stations. railways has more than a lakh vacancy in safety positions :bash:

Gentem, running to catch a moving train did her in. This old man was trying to board a stationary train. :ohno:

Have a look at the new renders of the seawoods integrated complex being built by L & T. It really will be a jewel in the suburban railway system.

http://lntrealty.in/ourproject_seawoods.html

DEADLINE: MAY ’12
Rlys may finish Mumbai Central plan ahead of time

Manthan K Mehta TNN



Mumbai: The Western Railway (WR) administration has begun work on extending the length of platforms at Mumbai Central (Main line) to accommodate 24-coach trains.
The project may be completed by May 2012 and will increase the carrying capacity of the long-distance trains by 33%.
“The plan also envisages equipping of the rail yard with improved facilities to carry out maintenance and washing of 24-coach trains at Mumbai Central. The cost of the project is Rs 15 crore,” WR chief public relations officer Sharat Chandrayan said. Trains like Rajdhani Express, August Kranti Express, Indore Express, Shatabdi Express, Karnvati Express, Jaipur Superfast Express, Gujarat Mail, Duronto Express that originate from Mumbai Central have 18 coaches.
“The conversion to 24-coach trains will be gradual. In the long run, the station will be in position to accommodate such trains.”
There are five platforms at the station, of which only platform 1 can accommodate 24-coach rakes.
Initially, the closing date for concluding the project was November 2012, later the deadline was advanced by the almost six months following a review carried out by Mahesh Kumar soon after his appointment as the general manager. The deadline coincides with the peak vacation period when the demand in high.
“Apart from regular trains, WR also runs vacation specials to cater to the high demand. The probability of the getting a confirmed berth will increase due to availability of more seats,” Chandrayan said.
The WR administration will also be able to recover the money within months. An additional 3-tier AC coach in Rajdhani can fetch Rs 1.25 lakh. Each coach has potential to accommodate 70 passengers. An addition of one each can rake in surplus revenue for the railways.
“This is the first time that a project of magnitude is being carried out,” Chandrayan said.

Have a look at the new renders of the seawoods integrated complex being built by L & T. It really will be a jewel in the suburban railway system.

http://lntrealty.in/ourproject_seawoods.html

http://lntrealty.in/images/inner_images.jpg

Is it a Commercial Exploitation or some kind of L&T Office?

Will new rakes have AC & automatic doors?

Thank you

http://lntrealty.in/images/inner_images.jpg

Is it a Commercial Exploitation or some kind of L&T Office?

Commercial exploitation....

Will new rakes have AC & automatic doors?

Thank you

No,

Ok,then I will find a new excuse to tell people here. Will wait for metro

MEGA BLOCK TODAY

WR sets stage for AC system

No Services For 6 Hrs From 10.30am Except For Few Special Trains

Manthan K Mehta | TNN

Today is a red-letter day for Western Railway (WR), as it will finally make the switch from its existing 1,500 volt Direct Current (DC) to the 25,000 volt Alternate Current (AC) traction system, which promises faster trains and more services. The transition, however, will cause some inconvenience to commuters, as WR will be suspending its services in a sixhour mega block from 10.30am and 4.30pm today when it converts the final stretch between Andheri and Churchgate to AC (See box).
On the Harbour Line, too, services to Andheri and Bandra from CST and Panvel will remain suspended (see box for timings). The harbour line section between Mahim and Andheri will switch to AC traction.
Sharat Chandrayan, Chief Public Relations Officer, WR, Chandrayan said, “Four pairs of special trains
with conventional
coaches and diesel
engines will run during the block period.
We have appealed to
passengers to avoid
travelling during this
time if possible.” To
provide support, BEST
will operate 80 additional buses. Railway officials have also sought assistance from the RTO to tackle complaints of taxi and auto drivers refusing to ferry people or overcharging them.
Mahesh Kumar, general manager, WR, said: “The switch will integrate the suburban system with other sections of the railway that have the AC system. Apart from energy savings, we will be able to add more services, depending on the availability of rakes. In the DC system, it was not possible to run more services as it would have entailed opening more sub-stations, which was technically not viable.”
In the DC system, power was supplied from 25 sub-stations located between Churchgate and Virar. In AC system, only five sub-stations—each with a 30 MVA capacity—will supply power. In the DC system, the train’s speed limit was 80 kmph, but an AC compatible rake can clock a maximum speed of 100 kmph.

Harbour line services suspended

Between 9am and 4.03pm, Harbour line services to Bandra-Andheri leaving CST will be suspended. South-bound services to CST leaving Bandra/Andheri stations will remain suspended from 9.52am to 4.41pm today. The section between Mahim and Andheri will switch to AC traction

Rooftop warning

WR has warned commuters against travelling on the rooftops of trains from today onwards as the entire section from Churchgate to Virar will now have a 25,000 V AC power, which is 17 times stronger than DC power. Anyone coming within two metres of the overhead wire will be charred to death

ADVANTAGES OF AC OVER DC

Improved services | With a DC system, railways were unable to increase services as it would have overloaded the system
More 12 car rakes | With an AC system, railway officials can add more 12-car rakes Power saver | In an AC system, locomotives equipped with regenerative brakes can help save up to 30% energy as the traction motor feeds some of the current back into the supply system Less maintenance | The AC system needs lighter overhead wires, whereas, the thicker and heavier contact wires and pantographs (the electric-rod device that collects current from overhead lines for trains) in the DC network is prone to faster wear and tear

Yard remodelling at Mumbai Central

Due to the yard remodelling work at Mumbai Central for the extension of platforms to accommodate 24 coach-trains, the Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Gujarat Mail and Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Passenger will originate and terminate from Dadar between February 7 and March 21
The Mumbai Central-Firozpur Janata Express and the Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Triweekly special train will depart from and arrive at Bandra Terminus
Dahanu Road-Mumbai Central Shuttle will be terminated at Andheri while the Mumbai Central-Valsad Fast Passenger will start from and terminate at Dadar from February 15 to March 21


http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2012/02/05/2/Img/Pc0021400.jpg

FINAL HURRAH: The last DC local took a historic run from Bandra to Churchgate on Saturday at 12.38pm

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2012/02/05/2/Img/Pc0021100.jpg

del

In the explanation of "What is DC?", they actually mention DC literally in the meaning without giving an explanation of what it actually means. Brilliant stuff from the reporter. :bash:

Expect faster trains, more rakes this year (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Expect-faster-trains-more-rakes-this-year/articleshow/11773903.cms)
Somit Sen, TNN | Feb 6, 2012, 06.53AM IST
MUMBAI: Your ride between Churchgate and Virar will now be faster and better, all thanks to the overhead traction conversion from 1,500 volt DC to 25,000 volt AC on the Western Railway's entire suburban section.

The last leg of the conversion, between Churchgate and Andheri stations, was carried out by 800 WR workers during Sunday's mega block. The frequency of trains is expected to improve drastically from this week. At least 30 extra, mainly 12-car, trains will be introduced in the next two months. Train speeds are expected to cross 120kmph in the near future.

"It is a historic moment for WR," said general manager Mahesh Kumar. "We have installed, on railway premises, India's biggest transformers; two near Mahalaxmi station and three near Bandra. We have done away with the eight-decade old DC system and have switched to the power-saving, non-polluting and powerful AC traction system," he said.

The new system will provide more power to install better equipment, run faster trains, run more rakes and make commuting a pleasant experience for lakhs of passengers.

Besides the regular trains, which will now run at over 100kmph as opposed to the earlier 80kmph speed, trials are on to introduce a high-speed train, which will run at 120kmph.

WR chief public relations officer Sharat Chandrayan said, "The mega block on Sunday was successful. We understand that there must have been some inconvenience caused to commuters, but the change was necessary in the general interest of our passengers." Chandrayan said 800 personnel were directly involved and 200 more indirectly with the massive conversion work carried out mainly near Mahalaxmi and Bandra stations. "Our workers climbed 20 feet carrying heavy wires weighing 7-8 kg and ensured that the entire conversion was completed with clockwork precision," he added.

In the earlier system, 1,500 volts of DC power was supplied to the Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) through the overhead wires. Now, the electric charge's movement will periodically reverse direction and 25,000 volts of AC power will be supplied from the transformers to the EMUs. Anyone coming within two metres of the overhead wire will be charred to death.

Chandrayan said that with the transformers installed, WR is now capable of expansion in the future.

Seems a section of harbour line also changed from dc to ac... Also they finished fast ahead of schedule

MEGA BLOCK TODAY WR sets stage for AC system

No Services For 6 Hrs From 10.30am Except For Few Special Trains
Manthan K Mehta | TNN

Harbour line services suspended
Between 9am and 4.03pm, Harbour line services to Bandra-Andheri leaving CST will be suspended. South-bound services to CST leaving Bandra/Andheri stations will remain suspended from 9.52am to 4.41pm today. The section between Mahim and Andheri will switch to AC traction


Western Railway gets ‘power’, public chaos (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_western-railway-gets-power-public-chaos_1646375)
Published: Monday, Feb 6, 2012, 7:50 IST
By Rajendra Aklekar | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

The Western Railway (WR) on Sunday took a six-hour pause to make the historic switch from the existing 1,500 volt Direct Current (DC) to the 25,000 volt Alernate Current (AC) traction system, which promises faster trains. The WR chose the day as it was on February 5, 1928, the line had first been electrified.

The power switch, however, caused inconvenience to commuters as the train services were thrown out of gear for six hours. Only special trains ran at hourly intervals, putting the commuters in trouble as autos and cabbies refused to ply and were overcharging.

The extra buses plied by the BEST fell woefully short as commuters moved to road public transport. Many who wanted to be a part of the Eid procession ended up confused as there were no local trains and could not reach their destinations on time.

The block that started at 10:30am finished earlier at 3:45pm as 800 workers put in efforts to finish work ahead of scheduled time. The first retrofitted Alternating Current train ran from Andheri station to Churchgate after the block was over. Railway officials tried to replicate the 1928 function by having a function at Mahalaxmi and Andheri, between which WR’s first electric train had run.


ac / dc doesnt matter much, higher voltage means lesser current thats all, so thinner overhead wires enough.

Anybody knows when will CR switch its lines to 25kv AC?

ac / dc doesnt matter much, higher voltage means lesser current thats all, so thinner overhead wires enough.

Anybody knows when will CR switch its lines to 25kv AC?

AC/DC does matter DC current faces greater resistivity so higher electricity loss
I think CR is already on 25kv in most parts

I hope this does not have much of an effect on Harbour Line CST-Andheri Services as all rakes plying on the route will need to be the New AC / Converted DC-AC Rakes. :)

If we may just rewind a few months backs, many Harbour services had to be cancelled/terminated at Bandra and turned around for lack of sufficient rakes.

Travelled from Panvel to Belapur at 5:18am train (first one of the day) . This train was the one refurbished types (all steel interiors) and (painted white n purple scheme on the exterior).

I have to say this ! There seems to be no stopping of the advertisers who adv. their services of blasting bloated piles to pregnancy issues to sexual dysfunctions to ayurveda to allopathy (and pathetic) doctors on the adverts.

It was disheartening to see how many paper bills/ads/posters made it inside the otherwise clean interior.

I shudder to think how the proposed MONORAILS and METRO rail rolling stock be treated by Mumbai-ites especially on harbor line / central line where there are FAR MORE incidences of property attrition than any other line? Brace.. Brace.. Brace..

Day after new system on railways, two crows electrocuted and train services disrupted during peak hours.

Alternate shock for birds, commuters

Rajendra Aklekar l Mumbai |DNA Feb 07, 2012

The move to convert from direct to alternating current to ensure better services to railway commuters began on a disastrous note not only for the passengers but also for the birds. A day after Western Railway (WR) switched to the new system, two crows were electrocuted and services disrupted, affecting lakhs of commuters during peak hours.
A ‘fast-flying’ crow hit a high-tension overhead wire of the fast track at Marine Lines around 7.30am on Monday. The crow snapped a portion of the wire which led to a short circuit and brought trains to a halt for a couple of hours. At least 13 services were cancelled and people heading to their offices were left in the lurch. Sources said the crow was dangling from the electric pole.
In another incident, a crow led to a short circuit at platform No 5 at Dadar station around 4.15pm on Monday. The entire overhead equipment was damaged and it led to the closure of platform No 5. Trains running between Dadar and Virar were diverted to other platforms. This was the second incident at the same spot after a loose wire fell on the overhead wire at 10pm on Sunday, causing sparks and panic.
Similar incidents took place near Vile Parle and Santa Cruz stations on Sunday when the conversion was being carried out. These are only some of the incidents that were reported. Officials said several birds must have been electrocuted.
Animal rights activists have raised concerns and urged WR to resolve the issue immediately.

“This is not a unique problem as electric railways are common. Crows, sparrows, pigeons and kites usually hover over urban areas and are always under threat because of overhead wires,” said K Sunish Subramanian, animal welfare officer and founder-member of Plant and Animal Welfare Society, Mumbai.
He said in case of bird collisions, most die due to fractured vertebrae, breakage of skull and wing cartilages besides electrocution. The period between February and May is the nesting period and birds nest under bridges and on overhead masts. “Railways have also put dangling bird scares made of wood on masts and removed hundreds of bird nests regularly to protect the insulators on the wires,” Subramanian said.
Railway officials called it a teething problem and said such incidents will reduce with time. “We have measures in place like applying non-toxic bird-repellent gel to the overhead wires to keep birds away from the wires. In the ghats, we face similar problems from monkeys,” a railway officer said.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1569/27201232646pm.jpg

pic : DNA Mumbai

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_dc-to-ac-conversion-of-railways-shocks-birds-commuters_1646835

AC/DC does matter DC current faces greater resistivity so higher electricity loss
I think CR is already on 25kv in most parts

resistivity :? AC means +25kv and -25kv voltage on same line alternatively at 50Hz frequency..

CR hasnt even started this dc to ac conversion.. maybe now this WR's ac-dc hybrid trains will help them :cheers:

Train shortage delays DC-AC conversion of the Central Railway (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_train-shortage-delays-dc-ac-conversion-of-the-central-railway_1613102)
Published: Wednesday, Nov 16, 2011, 8:00 IST
By DNA Correspondent

Commuters on Central Railway (CR) will have to put up with the old trains and limited speeds for some more time as CR is facing shortage of trains which will run on the new alternating current (AC) technology which the CR is upgrading itself to.

CR requires 140 trains that will run on new power mode and currently it has just 53. While officials said the deadline for the project is December 2012, sources said it is impractical as there is no plan or idea:lol: regarding how the CR will be able to procure the remaining 87 trains within a year.

Officials said that the conversion will be done in six phases. The six phases will be Kalyan-Thane, Thane-Kurla, Thane-Vashi, Mankhurd-Panvel, Kurla-CST and CST-Mankhurd.

“Phase 1 of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) is complete and a majority of the trains that are expected to arrive have already come. Just seven more trains are expected under the old project. Trains under the new phase will start arriving next year and there is no way that 87 trains can come before 2012 as even during peak production, the railways have been able to get only five trains per month,’’ a senior official said.

Western Railway on Sunday completed switching a major portion of its lines to the new AC lines and plans to complete more by this year-end. However, CR’s conversion process is likely to get delayed.

Alternate shock for birds, commuters

:rofl:

Day after new system on railways, two crows electrocuted and train services disrupted during peak hours.

pic : DNA Mumbai

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_dc-to-ac-conversion-of-railways-shocks-birds-commuters_1646835

How does this happen??? I have seen many crows/pigeons sitting on high tension overhead wires but nothing happens to them...why should they get a shock if they have no contact with the earth...maybe engineers can explain :-)

resistivity :? AC means +25kv and -25kv voltage on same line alternatively at 50Hz frequency..


A DC voltage is always positive (or always negative), but it may increase and decrease.
The DC system is quite simple but it requires thick cables and short distances between feeder stations because of the high currents required. There are also significant resistive losses.
If auxiliary machinery, such as fans and compressors, is powered by motors fed directly from the traction supply, they may be larger because of the extra insulation required for the relatively high operating voltage. Alternatively, they can be powered from a motor-generator set, which offers an alternative way of powering incandescent lights which otherwise would have to be connected as series strings (bulbs designed to operate at traction voltages being particularly inefficient
These are the reasons why AC is preferred over DC

and about CR I may be wrong

And major reason have you seen how Mumbai EMU starts it can't start steadily because of DC but on AC it can be steady and slow which is not safe at all in urban areas like Mumbai which makes AC preferred

^^ simple reason 25kv ac is preferred is scale. it is used everywhere in india except mumbai :) so you get new locos easily if you have 25kv ac. reason for high current is comparatively low voltage, not because ac or dc..

How does this happen??? I have seen many crows/pigeons sitting on high tension overhead wires but nothing happens to them...why should they get a shock if they have no contact with the earth...maybe engineers can explain :-)

if a bird comes near neutral/ground and high voltage wire it will get shock. voltage difference is what causes current. bird sitting on high tension is fine, but if it sits near neutral/ground (like electric pole, railway station roof) it is risky.

Travelled from Panvel to Belapur at 5:18am train (first one of the day) . This train was the one refurbished types (all steel interiors) and (painted white n purple scheme on the exterior).

I have to say this ! There seems to be no stopping of the advertisers who adv. their services of blasting bloated piles to pregnancy issues to sexual dysfunctions to ayurveda to allopathy (and pathetic) doctors on the adverts.

It was disheartening to see how many paper bills/ads/posters made it inside the otherwise clean interior.

Rly court asks poster boys to pay for clean-up

This is the first time such offenders, who usually get away with a minor fine, have been directed to bear the costs of removing posters and repainting

Binoo.Nair @timesgroup.com

The Thane railway court on Monday ordered five people who illegally stuck posters inside local trains to pay for the clean-up, giving rail authorities’ fight against the menace a muchneeded push. This is the first time such offenders have been directed to bear the costs of removing posters and repainting. Usually, the ‘poster boys’ get away with a minor fine of Rs 400 or a warning.

The five men – Sulakshna Nimbde, Amar Ranshu, Ratan Shinde, Vilas Shinde and Vireshwar Sinha – were caught by the RPF sticking bills inside trains parked at the Thane siding yard on Sunday evening. Sinha, a senior citizen, is a resident of Kalyan, while the rest are from Panvel.

Each of them will have to cough up Rs 2,000, half of which will be used by Central Railway (CR) to pull off the eyesores they have glued to trains and to cover up poster marks with paint. “The court order sets a very good precedent; it sends a clear warning to people that if they dirty trains by sticking bills, they will have to pay for the clean-up,” RPF’s senior commandant, Alok Bohra, told Mirror. “We will now go after offenders with greater vigour.”

Illegal bills – which advertise everything from dream jobs, cheap plots to miracle cures for balding and diminishing sex drive – pose not only a visual problem, but also a financial one. According to a CR official, they have started affecting railways’ in-train advertising business.

“Legitimate advertisers have started pulling out because illegal posters conceal their ads. We have lost at least Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore in ad revenue,” he said. Many of the products and schemes mentioned in illegal ads are an elaborate hoax aimed at duping commuters. “Fraud godmen and realty agents target people this way,” the official said.

Often, the railway police find it hard to nab and prosecute the people who order sticking of illegal bills because of procedural and legal complexities. Most of the posters have phone numbers printed on them, but no address for correspondence.

“In the absence of the address, we cannot issue summons to these people, and build a case against them,” an RPF officer said.
“Arresting poster boys, who get Rs 2 to Rs 3 for every ad they paste, is a short-term solution because they pay a minor fine and rejoin the trade almost immediately after their release.”

Monday’s court order doesn’t offer a way out of this, but it does encourage Central and Western railways, which are forced to spend lakhs on cleap-up of defaced trains, to seek damages from arrested offenders. They, in fact, have asked their staff at car sheds to keep a record of the number of bills removed from trains and the cost of the exercise. The figures will be used in court against offenders.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=MMIR/2012/02/07&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00300&ViewMode=HTML

Aare yaroon... There are many reasons for AC conversions..
here are advantages of AC over DC
1) Save electricity cost
2) Biggest advantage is increase max speed to 110 KMPH(on DC its 80KMPH) so more services can be run and thus reduce the crowding. I read somewhere that they will create all 9 car trains to 12 car ones after conversion.
3) outstation trains had to change engines while entering/exiting Mumbai there by adding time.

Aare yaroon... There are many reasons for AC conversions..
here are advantages of AC over DC
1) Save electricity cost
2) Biggest advantage is increase max speed to 110 KMPH(on DC its 80KMPH) so more services can be run and thus reduce the crowding. I read somewhere that they will create all 9 car trains to 12 car ones after conversion.
3) outstation trains had to change engines while entering/exiting Mumbai there by adding time.

Thats what I was saying and the kasara local 0015 hrs went to 100kmph but normally it can't happen on DC EMUs

^^ Those are all advantages of high voltage.. not advantages of ac over dc :ohno:

^^ Those are all advantages of high voltage.. not advantages of ac over dc :ohno:

Have you ever heard of high voltage DC (25 kV) used for applications like propulsion, power distribution e.t.c.??

Have you ever heard of high voltage DC (25 kV) used for applications like propulsion, power distribution e.t.c.??

Its impossible

Have you ever heard of high voltage DC (25 kV) used for applications like propulsion, power distribution e.t.c.??

have you ever heard 1500v dc in overhead wires anywhere in the world other than mumbai? but all this are very much possible.

^^
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne_and_Wear_Metro
and dude its standard
If you look few posts back I have posted reason why DC is not used clearly tells that it requires heavy insulation which is nearly impossible DC is only +ve or only -ve it cant be both

Its impossible
My point exactly:)

have you ever heard 1500v dc in overhead wires anywhere in the world other than mumbai? but all this are very much possible.
:ohno:
Several examples of 1500 V DC with overhead wires.
tyne and wear metro as pkalein pointed out
light rail system in Seattle
Electrified sections of METRA commuter trains in Chicago
Suburban Trains in Sydney,Australia

I give up here. ac is prevalent in world because easy conversion to between voltages without any energy loss using simple transformers. high voltage better for long distance transmission as thinner wire is enough.

otherwise not much difference between ac and dc. had mumbai railway switched to 1500v ac then all that advantages mentioned in article would be void.

I give up here. ac is prevalent in world because easy conversion to between voltages without any energy loss using simple transformers. high voltage better for long distance transmission as thinner wire is enough.
That's what we wanted to say nothing else and take it easy
:cheers:

otherwise not much difference between ac and dc. had mumbai railway switched to 1500v ac then all that advantages mentioned in article would be void.

15kv not 1500v and yes AC can't be useful on such a low voltage the EMU will not be able to manage more than 40kmph(don't know exact value just example) on AC if 15000v is used

DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_finally-work-on-harbour-lines-third-track-begins_1647633)
Finally, work on Harbour Line’s third track begins

Ground work on building the third line for the much-congested Harbour Line has finally begun. The third line that is being built between Kurla and Wadala stations will ferry freight and cargo trains that right now criss-cross suburban trains leading to their detention. At Kurla, an elevated corridor will carry this goods line over the two lines, completely segregating them and further take them on the fifth and sixth lines.

The 5.66km new Kurla-Wadala line would be linked to the 1,483km national dedicated freight corridor of the western region, which is being built between Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.

DNA was the first to report about it in January last year. The Kurla-Wadala project would cost Rs104 crore of which Rs55 crore would be spent on removal of hutments and rehabilitation.

“Yes. We have begun work relocating structures along existing stations between Kurla and Wadala to make way for a third line. To lay the third line, we need to make space and we have begun work on construction of a high-level booking office and staircase worth Rs2.31crore to lay the additional line at Chunabhati station.

Besides, we are laying a complete boundary wall and a drain for the stretch of almost 2km worth Rs4.27 crore to make way,’’ a top official said.

“These are preparatory works and other works shall be taken up soon. The average growth in commuters on harbour line in last five years has been in the range of 9% to 10%, while the same is in the range of 3% to 4% on the main lines of CR and WR. It has become very crowded and besides building two more lines, which would take time, there is need to immediately decongest the existing line,’’ he said.

There is significant goods traffic coming and going to the docks of the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) daily and the railways had already signed a memorandum of understanding with the MbPT for this additional line a few years ago. The traffic of Mumbai Port is projected to increase to 45.20 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2013-14 from the present level of 35.12 MPTA. The railways have already approved 12 car trains for harbour line and two separate fast train lines that will run air-conditioned locals between 49 km- CST-Panvel to be taken up on public-private partnership (PPP) to improve connectivity. The traffic on the Harbour Line is expected to be doubled by 2021 with the new airport plan in place.

That's what we wanted to say nothing else and take it easy
:cheers:



15kv not 1500v and yes AC can't be useful on such a low voltage the EMU will not be able to manage more than 40kmph(don't know exact value just example) on AC if 15000v is used

a 1500v AC train would run at same speed as current trains, that is 80kph. And same number of trains can be run simultaneously as currently are in 1500v DC. Thats why i told not much difference between ac and dc :cheers:

Mumbai’s AC train dreams on fast track

Manthan K Mehta TNN

Mumbai: The DC-to-AC conversion successfully completed by Western Railway this Sunday has given a major boost to a long-standing dream of the city: air-conditioned trains. A senior railway official told TOI on Thursday that the Railway Board had given the green signal for the manufacture of a prototype of the air-conditioned rake it wants to run in Mumbai. “It will be manufactured either at the Bharat Earth Mover Ltd, Bangalore, or the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai,” he said.
The Research Designs and Standards Organisation of the railways has drawn up a design for the AC train. Railway officials are tight-lipped about details like cost and the number of compartments on account of the code of conduct for the coming civic elections.

COOLER RIDE
AC train plan awaits rail ministry nod

Mumbai: The successful DCto-AC conversion has given a major boost to Mumbai’s dreams of air-conditioned trains.
The proposal, if approved by railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, may get a mention in the railway budget.
While the project appears feasible on paper, the real test will be after the trial runs and during the actual operations, said officials. There are many challenges the Railways will face, prime among them being the number of commuters. Currently, suburban trains carry what is called a superdense ‘crush load’ of 500 commuters per compartment, way higher than the permitted number. AC trains, for obvious reasons, will not be able to carry such a load, and the compartment design will have to altered by either reducing the number of seats or placing them against the length of the walls.
Other design changes will have to be made to prevent the cool air from escaping when the doors are opened at stations. The official said the ideal solution would be to emulate the AC coaches of long-distance trains, which have two doors—one that
leads into the compartment and another into the AC section. As for the automatic doors that the Metro has, the official said that it might not work on the suburban railway with its open stations. “The average halt of a suburban train is 30 seconds per station,” he said. “If the door remains open for this duration, all the reconditioned air will go out. The metro can afford to have this type of door because its stations have climate control technology.”

^^ Instead of making full a/c trains they cold add one ac chaircar coach to each local train :ohno:

^^ Instead of making full a/c trains they cold add one ac chaircar coach to each local train :ohno:
I agree with the suggestion. I would think the first class sections could be air conditioned and the fares modified to that effect.
I also think the whole design/layout of the suburban trains needs a rethink. The second class areas should be clubbed together as far as possible and there should be vestibules between coaches. Continuous longer stretches of 2nd class may actually create more space. The power units need to be more compact and well placed so that they do not block the continuity of neighboring passenger areas.

Its only a matter of time before health and safety reasons will force the government to introduce closed-door system in the rakes.
Post metro, mono and enhanced 12 bogie cars, the crushload should lessen. But eventually, the government will have to deal with the dozen-odd deaths every year by people falling off trains. Its inevitable, as we rise above third world status - we'll have to deal with realities and this "chalta hai" excuse : Because-of-so-much-crushload-hence-no-closed-door policy just won't work.

You cannot be called a second world or even first world (whenever that happens) and still have third world mentality especially around infrastructure and safety!!

^^ Instead of making full a/c trains they cold add one ac chaircar coach to each local train :ohno:

EMU trains are different from locomotive hauled trains. One cannot add an additional coach at his own wish. EMUs consist of self propelling units of 3 cars (in case of Mumbai locals) each, hence called Electric Multiple Units. These trains are not powered by any locomotive and each 3 car unit pulls its own load. One can add only one full unit of 3 cars to an EMU train. That's why you will hear EMUs with a length in multiple of 3 only (9 car, 12 car, 15 car).

EMU trains are different from locomotive hauled trains. One cannot add an additional coach at his own wish. EMUs consist of self propelling units of 3 cars (in case of Mumbai locals) each, hence called Electric Multiple Units. These trains are not powered by any locomotive and each 3 car unit pulls its own load. One can add only one full unit of 3 cars to an EMU train. That's why you will hear EMUs with a length in multiple of 3 only (9 car, 12 car, 15 car).

Fair point - then instead of 1 car - add one AC unit of 3 cars. The rest of the rake is non AC. get rid of current first-class cars.

I also think the whole design/layout of the suburban trains needs a rethink. The second class areas should be clubbed together as far as possible and there should be vestibules between coaches. Continuous longer stretches of 2nd class may actually create more space. The power units need to be more compact and well placed so that they do not block the continuity of neighboring passenger areas.

Blame the broad gauge here. It requires quite wide a gap between ends of two adjacent compartments to facilitate navigation of the train on curves, without the ends hitting each other. So imagine a broad vestibule, even of 3/4 th width of the compartment... on curves (and specially on really tighter ones), the vestibule wall on inner side of the curve would come quite near and the outer will stretch out equally. Now imagine commuters standing right on the vestibules (I have seen this in Delhi metro, Tokyo metro, et al)... Having narrow vestibules, like those in long distance trains, in local trains won't help... can't imagine people trying to move across in the super dense crush loaded trains.

The BG lines are nothing but cargo and cattle movers and that is the fundamental flaw in IR design. As such Brits considered (and consider) Indians to be cattle! No wonder that across the world, majority of the metro systems are standard gauge that helps trains navigate even tighter curves at higher speeds and other things such as through-vestibules also fit in comfortably.

Regarding power units, the bigger the size of the trainset, bigger the power units... Good that sense prevailed in Delhi metro and they switched to standard gauge after having broad gauge for first line...

Soon,CR to start 15-car services

Manthan K Mehta I TNN

Mumbai: Central Railway commuters can soon get to travel on 15-car trains as the authorities have firmed plans to introduce 10 services on the suburban section between CST and Kalyan,officials said.
Plans are on to launch these services before March 31,2012.The services will run between CST-Kalyan,CSTThane and Dadar-Thane.As of now,platforms at CST,Dadar,Thane and Kalyan can accommodate 15-car trains.
Source said,At CST,these 15-car trains can operate from platform no.7,which is big enough to accommodate these many coaches.CR has carried out a survey of 7 more stationsByculla,Kurla,Ghatkopar,Vikhroli,Bhandup,Mulund and Dombivliwhere many fast services have been provided halts but do not have the requisite length to accommodate 15-car trains.Adequate land is available at these stations to extend the platforms to accommodate 15-car trains.There will be phasewise extension of platforms at the stations identified in the survey,an official said.
Sources also said,None of the 10 services planned will be new.Only,the existing 12-car services will be upgraded to 15-car.Many of the services will be converted to superfast from fast or slow to fast.
Sources said,CR can follow the WR model as the 15-car trains were not initially provided halts at stations which could not accommodate trains longer than 12-car.WR,which runs 12 services of 15-car,started provided stoppages to fast trains at stations as and when the length of the platform was extended.
Sources also said that the only impediment to faster implementation of the service could be the absence of stabling lines that can accommodate 15-car rakes.

ON TRACK

Ten services to be started before Mar 31,2012

The services will run between CST-Kalyan,CST-Thane and Dadar-Thane

There will be phase-wise extension of the services as and when platforms are made longer at the stations to accommodate 15-cars

CR to counsel ticketless travellers
Manthan K Mehta I TNN

Mumbai: Central Railway (CR) has decided to counsel ticketless travellers and persuade them to use automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs) that are operated through smart cards.
On February 7,CR launched fortress check drive at CST,Kurla,Dadar,Ghatkopar,Thane and Dombivli stations to curb ticketless travel.Those caught during these drives are counselled and told to buy ATVM smart cards.
A total of 1,174 cases of ticketless/irregular travel and unbooked luggage were detected.These included 100 cases of travel in first class without ticket and 714 of ticketless travel in second class compartments.CR earned Rs 2.86 lakh in fine from offenders in these cases.
A CR official said,Many people travel ticketless because they dont want to stand in long queues at booking offices.Our aim is to persuade these commuters to use ATVMs.These machines are easy to operate and save commuters time.
On Thursday,six commuters agreed to use ATVMs to buy tickets after being counselled by ticket checkers.
The Indian Railways has decided to reduce the minimum recharge value for ATVM smart cards to Rs 20 from Rs 50.Now,commuters can recharge their cards for any amount between Rs 20 and Rs 2,000 in the multiples of Rs 50.The validity of the smart cards has also been increased from six months to one year.
The railways has asked officials to popularize ATVM smart cards as coupon validating machines will be phased out by March 2013.
Last month,CR introduced 96 Jansadharan Ticket Booking System centres,in addition to the existing 82,across Mumbai from where passengers can buy train tickets.

136 booked for illegal commute in handicapped bogies on WR


The Railway Protection Force has flagged off a sustained drive on the western line against illegal travel in handicapped coaches.On Thursday,136 offenders were prosecuted.Offenders claimed they had boarded the handicapped coach because of the crowd in other bogies during the peak hour.Around 80 personnel from other divisions have been sent to Mumbai for this campaign, said senior
divisional security commissioner (WR)
Rajendra Rupnawar. Nitasha Natu

Blame the broad gauge here. It requires quite wide a gap between ends of two adjacent compartments to facilitate navigation of the train on curves, without the ends hitting each other. So imagine a broad vestibule, even of 3/4 th width of the compartment... on curves (and specially on really tighter ones), the vestibule wall on inner side of the curve would come quite near and the outer will stretch out equally. Now imagine commuters standing right on the vestibules (I have seen this in Delhi metro, Tokyo metro, et al)... Having narrow vestibules, like those in long distance trains, in local trains won't help... can't imagine people trying to move across in the super dense crush loaded trains.
The vestibule need not be 3/4 th the width of the compartment. there is middle ground between the narrow vestibules in regular trains and 3/4th width of a compartment And to think of it gap between compartments in a suburban trains seems to be lesser than that in regular mail/express/shuttle trains. Also there is something called a rotating turntable which is often prevalent in light rail and trolley buses (even in India and which traverse tighter curves than trains). An adequately designed turntable can help.

The BG lines are nothing but cargo and cattle movers and that is the fundamental flaw in IR design. As such Brits considered (and consider) Indians to be cattle!
The same Brits electrified and quadrupled the railway tracks between VT and Kalyan and between Churchgate and Borivali back in the 1930s and those tracks continue to be the backbone of mumbai city even today. In 60 odd years of independence we only added an extra pair of tracks between borivali and virar, 5th line between mumbai central and santa cruz and additional tracks between kurla and thane, far short of the tremendous increase in demand on these lines. Say what you want about the Brits, at least they had the foresight to see the need for train services and create a long term solution.

No wonder that across the world, majority of the metro systems are standard gauge that helps trains navigate even tighter curves at higher speeds and other things such as through-vestibules also fit in comfortably.
So they are building the mumbai metro with standard gauge. Again not because the trains can handle tighter curves, but bcoz the rolling stock can be purchased off the shelf at a cheaper price. BTW a lot of countries have broad gauges for their mainline and commuter trains (our suburban trains are essentially commuter trains not metro trains) and sometimes even metro trains.

Regarding power units, the bigger the size of the trainset, bigger the power units... Good that sense prevailed in Delhi metro and they switched to standard gauge after having broad gauge for first line...
Standard Gauge or not, I believe the power units in case of delhi metro trains are neatly packaged, to either fit in on the roof or below the floor. Even the upcoming mumbai/bangalore metro trains will have similar features. Packaging below the floor remains bit of a problem for mumbai local trains given the annual monsoons and subsequent water logging. But I still believe there is room for improvement w.r.t more compact power units.

The same Brits electrified and quadrupled the railway tracks between VT and Kalyan and between Churchgate and Borivali back in the 1930s and those tracks continue to be the backbone of mumbai city even today. In 60 odd years of independence we only added an extra pair of tracks between borivali and virar, 5th line between mumbai central and santa cruz and additional tracks between kurla and thane, far short of the tremendous increase in demand on these lines. Say what you want about the Brits, at least they had the foresight to see the need for train services and create a long term solution.
Crediting the British for anything is similar to crediting the butcher for breeding and feeding the cattle.. only to butcher them off. The only foresight they had was to loot India in the most perfect and fastest way possible .. and that was not possible without the railways.

If they did this for Indians, they would not have had first class for whites and cattle class for the natives. To a certain extent, I concur at the cost of taking this thread OT (my apologies) that the Brits made improvements IN INDIA first for themselves and for themselves ONLY. That the services were available for the rest of the nation was simply the keep the services in profitable and efficient cash flows.

If an Indian goes to Africa for business, the first thing he will do is to build a secure home for himself (NOT FOR the people of his adopted land). Same vein, the Brits did things for themselves.

Back to Mumbai Railways

Crediting the British for anything is similar to crediting the butcher for breeding and feeding the cattle.. only to butcher them off. The only foresight they had was to loot India in the most perfect and fastest way possible .. and that was not possible without the railways.

Crediting the British for anything is similar to crediting the butcher for breeding and feeding the cattle.. only to butcher them off. The only foresight they had was to loot India in the most perfect and fastest way possible .. and that was not possible without the railways.

If they did this for Indians, they would not have had first class for whites and cattle class for the natives. To a certain extent, I concur at the cost of taking this thread OT (my apologies) that the Brits made improvements IN INDIA first for themselves and for themselves ONLY. That the services were available for the rest of the nation was simply the keep the services in profitable and efficient cash flows.If an Indian goes to Africa for business, the first thing he will do is to build a secure home for himself (NOT FOR the people of his adopted land). Same vein, the Brits did things for themselves. Back to Mumbai Railways

I think the original argument was that the broad gauge railways and subsequent design of suburban trains was a product of the british negative attitude towards Indians in general. And somehow the designs and standards (again w.r.t railways) they adopted for us Indians are now causing us problems.

I beg to differ on that. The British certainly had their self interest and air of superiority. But the electric suburban trains they introduced were as good in design as any other in the world in that period (1930s-1940s) including the ones seen on the london suburban network. In fact the trains were specifically designed to suit indian/mumbai conditions i.e. water logging on tracks, tropical climate. The network developed by them has served us well till now.

What has not served us is the overcrowding we are witnessing in Mumbai region (and other urban areas) due to uncontrolled population growth, rampant urbanization and haphazard urban development. To make matters worse we (or perhaps our authorities) have for long adopted a statist attitude towards upgrading our suburban train network.

Since 1947 till early 1990s the mumbai suburban network was more or less unchanged. The demand kept on rising several folds and they railways only responded by increasing the frequencies of train or the train length i.e. basically trying to squeeze more out of the existing facilities. Very little thought was given to augmenting the facilities to support the tremendous increase in usage/demand. Any advice from experts in planning and engineering was neglected. Things started moving only after the conditions became untenable and the overburdening of the railway system couldn't be ignored. The creation of Navi Mumbai served as an catalyst to the expansion in the network. But the pace of augmenting the mainline tracks on WR and CR is still slow.

As far the trains, The broad gauge extra wide local trains have a boon for people in mumbai as they could absorb more people. I definitely agree that we need a radical redesign of the trains. But there is no need to blame broad gauge for our inability to do so. There is nothing stopping the railways or MRVC from coming up with better designs. Rather it is their own (and in some way our own collective) inertia and lack of imagination that is preventing better trains in Mumbai.

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/WR-starts-work-to-raise-platform-height/articleshow/11865337.cms)
WR starts work to raise platform height

MUMBAI: Western Railway (WR) has begun work to raise the height of platforms at stations on its suburban network to ensure that a commuter does not fall on the tracks by slipping into the gap between the train's footboard and platform.

A WR official said, "Tenders have been invited to the raise the height of the platform no. 5 and 6 of Vile Parle station. We also plan to undertake work at Virar station in the coming days. The work will be carried out at other stations, too, if the height of the platform is found to be low when compared with the train's footboard. Ideally, the height of the platform should be between 760 mm to 840 mm from the track level. The raising of the platform is done periodically as the rail line also gets raised from time to time. The railway track is raised to prevent waterlogging during heavy rains."

Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer, WR, said, "Since we have been carrying out the programme of regularly raising the height of the rail line, there has been no flooding in the Western Railway areas since the past three to four years."

Tracks have to be raised because of development in the adjoining the railway lines. For instance, he said, "Whenever BMC carries out road improvement works, its contractors always build the road at a higher level than the previous road. We have no option but simultaneously follow suit to prevent waterlogging on railway tracks."

Raising the height of the track is a tedious process. "If the level of the track has to be raised by 1 metre, it cannot be done in one go. We have to raise it inch by inch to reach the 1-metre level. Moreover, adequate incline has to be provided while carrying out this work or it can lead to derailment," he explained.

Crediting the British for anything is similar to crediting the butcher for breeding and feeding the cattle.. only to butcher them off. The only foresight they had was to loot India in the most perfect and fastest way possible .. and that was not possible without the railways.

pity your nationalism, you seem to live in previous century :bash: as if british were war criminals..

broadguage is not that much a problem it is just 10% wider thats it.

pity your nationalism, you seem to live in previous century :bash: as if british were war criminals..

broadguage is not that much a problem it is just 10% wider thats it.

yea it doesn't make much difference in mumbai it is a problem only in ghats or something and because of that only we have an unique gauge

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_rail-budget-must-roll-out-a-mumbai-railway_1650760
Rail budget must roll out a Mumbai railway

With little less than a month for the railway budget, city commuter organisations have begun sending their wish list for Mumbai’s seven million rail passengers to the railway ministry.

Among the prime demands is segregating the city suburban railway network and converting it into a separate body for better co-ordination and funding pattern.

Other demands include improving the Harbour Line, running local trains to Virar, better train services beyond Kalyan and additional rail corridors for better connectivity. Commuter bodies also demanded additional lines and fast trains for Harbour corridor that has become saturated.

“The railways have backtracked on their Dahanu promise and we want the Western Railway to start local services there in this financial year,” said Shailendra Kamble of the Pravaas Adhikaar Andolan Samiti.

The railways should give priority for converting all trains into 12 car and running AC trains for the city. Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi is from Kutch and residents there have high expectations from him,’’ Shailesh Goyal of zonal railway consultative committee said.

Subhash Gupta, ex-member of National Railway Users Consultative Committee, said that all the problems will get solved once Mumbai suburban network is separated from the national railways and made independent.

“The suburban networks of central and western railway should be merged and run as one independent body. This will go a long way in solving many problems, taking decisions locally and also using the money earned from the city to be spent here. Today, the money generated goes to the national kitty,’’ he said.

Jagdish Rane, another commuter body member, said the railways should look at better connectivity for Konkan Railway from the WR stations.

“KR commuters staying in Borivli and beyond are either forced to go to Dadar or Panvel,’’ he explained.

MD (http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/feb/180212-Panvel-to-turn-into-a-hub-for-fast-trains.htm)
Panvel to turn into a hub for fast trains

Railways' Rs 20,000-cr plans for Panvel include turning it into a terminal for fast services to CST and additional lines to Diva, Vasai

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has set the ball rolling to turn Panvel into a rail hub for fast trains to CST and additional lines to Vasai and Diva on Western and Central lines. On February 14, the MRVC received applications from consultants for preparing a financial viability plan for two corridors: CST-Panvel and Vasai-Diva-Panvel.

The approximate cost of the two corridors is pegged at Rs 20,000 crore. "The private consultants will suggest the various ways these two corridors could be made viable. This will help us in gauging the necessary developments to be made at Panvel station, which would become a hub," said a senior MRVC official on condition of anonymity, adding that KPMG, Lea Associates, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte are the companies that have shown interest.

The developments come as the number of commuters to Panvel is expected to go up from 10 lakh at present to 15 lakh per day in the next three years. Of these, three lakh are likely to use the fast corridor.

Panvel is also marked for conversion into an outstation train terminal at a cost of Rs 27 crore, for which three to five new platforms to accommodate 24-coach trains will be built. The dedicated freight corridor connecting the country will bypass Panvel.

"We have plans to develop Panvel Terminus for a fast corridor that will connect to the proposed airport in Navi Mumbai. We will begin work on more ticket booking counters, toilets and amenities as Panvel will become a vital hub for suburbanites, long distance and goods trains," said a senior Central Railway official on condition of anonymity.

The Vasai-Diva-Panvel corridor will connect the three rail lines of Western, Central and Harbour.

Rs 20,000 cr
The approximate cost of CST-Panvel and Vasai-Diva-Panvel corridors. On February 14, the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation received applications from consultants for preparing a financial viability plan for the two corridors

Rs 27 cr
The cost marked for conversion of Panvel into outstation train terminal, for which new platforms to accommodate 24-coach trains will be built

Where's the Money?
Making plans is all good and dandy, what about the implementation? MUTP-3 envisages building 800 KM of new tracks (including Panvel Diva Vasai) amongst other infra plans. The tab is Rs 55,000 Crs. Where is the Moolah to do this?
Just today i read reports in newspapers that Railway is facing revenue shortfall in the future and unless corrective measures are taken now it is going the Air (Parasite) India way.
The Goons in North and South Block cannot see anything beyond Delhi's needs. So these plans will be good only for the Railway babu's and other free-loaders surping chai biscoot and samosa's in meetings at tax payers expense.

WR may not raze bridge on Harbour line

4 Options For Laying Fifth, Sixth Tracks From Mahim To Santa Cruz

Manthan K Mehta | TNN

Will the bridge between Khar and Bandra, wh ich Harbour line trains use to go from east to west and vice-versa, be demolished to make way for the crucial fifth and sixth tracks between Santa Cruz and Mahim on the Western Railway (WR) network? To avoid such possibility, WR is looking at three more options that will facilitate smooth execution of the project
The fifth line was commis sioned on the Santa Cruz-Borivli stretch in 2002 and from Mumbai Central to Mahim in 1993. Betw een Santa Cruz and Mahim, there is a missing link of around 3km WR officials want to squeeze in sixth line as well on this stretch
However, a major impediment is the lack of space. To deal with this problem, WR is weighing diff erent options, including partial demolition of the Bandra-Khar bridge. The problem with this plan is that Harbour line servic es between Andheri and Bandra will come to a halt for six months
The other options include re modelling of the existing tracks and creating new bridges from Khar to Bandra and King’s Circle to Mahim. The railways already has a piece of land available to the east of the existing Harbour line tracks. This can be used to lay the new lines. (See box)
The new lines will help seg regate mail/express trains, leav ing the four existing tracks ex clusively for suburban services A senior official said: “WR will link the fifth track to Bandra Ter minus. This will also ease the pressure on the existing Fast cor ridor as mail/express trains can switch to the fifth track.” The project involving the sixth line is expected to be completed by 2015 and will help increase local services by 30% on the Fast cor ridor. This can also lead to an in crease in long-distance services
WR chief public relations of ficer Sharat Chandrayan said “We are examining various op tions so as to prevent disruption of services. Besides, the option we will choose will also be the best in the long run.”

CRACKING BANDRA-KHAR ELEVATED PUZZLE

OPTION ONE

Along the existing tracks on the eastern side—adjacent to the ramp of the Bandra-Khar Harbour line bridge—a chunk of land will have to be acquired. For this, WR will have to demolish the southern portion of the bridge, towards Bandra The existing Harbour line tracks at the ground level will be converted into the fifth and sixth tracks, which will then be used for WR services. Two new tracks will be laid on the acquired land and used for Harbour line services. These tracks will then be connected to the bridge; the demolished portion of the bridge will be remodelled and rebuilt
ESTIMATED COST: 40-50 crore DRAWBACK: Harbour line services will have to be shut for at least six months from Bandra to Andheri. Besides, being a time-consuming and uncertain process, land acquisition may delay the project

OPTION TWO

The bridge will not be demolished. Instead, a cheaper option that involves remodelling of the tracks will be taken up. Under this, the gap between the existing lines will be reduced, thereby making space for the two extra pairs of tracks
ESTIMATED COST: 15 crore DRAWBACK: Speed restrictions will be imposed on all tracks between Bandra and Khar when work is carried out to reduce the gap between them. This, in turn, will increase the travel time. It will also reduce options to run extra services due to slowing down of trains. Besides, the long-run cost-benefit ratio may make this unviable

OPTION THREE

A new bridge will be built between King’s Circle and Mahim, which will terminate just before Mahim Causeway. An elevated station will have to built on the western side of Mahim station, where the existing WR platforms are located
The existing tracks for UP and Down slow trains will be used for Harbour line services
Remodelling of tracks and Mahim station will be done to create space for fifth and sixth tracks. Remodelling of
Bandra station and the tracks beyond it will also be carried out as the Harbour line will move from east to west before Mahim. The existing Bandra-Khar bridge will not be demolished but will lie unused
ESTIMATED COST: 60 crore
DRAWBACK: Besides being an expensive option, railway blocks will have to be undertaken for a sustained period under this system, thereby affecting train services

OPTION FOUR

Another east-west bridge will be constructed just to the north of the existing Bandra-Khar bridge. This will be used for Harbour line trains
Track remodelling will be done to the east of the Harbour line tracks using railway land at the Bandra end of the existing bridge to create space for the new tracks. Harbour line trains will not be disrupted. The existing bridge will later become non-functional
ESTIMATED COST : 70 crore
DRAWBACK: Constructing a new bridge will be a costly affair

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_churchgate-virar-regulars-get-24-min-bonus_1652874
Churchgate-Virar regulars get 24-min bonus

The 60-km distance between Churchgate and Virar just got shorter. Western Railway’s(WR) plans to induct faster 12-car locals running on alternating current network will save an average commuter’s time between the return journey of Churchgate-Virar-Churchgate by 24 minutes.

The conversion from direct current to alternating current has led to increase in speed and overall efficiency of Western Railway and has led to more space, which will now lead to faster trains and additional services.

‘’The average time between Churchgate to Virar has been cut down by 12 minutes in a single journey. This translates into 24 minutes for a return journey and an average Mumbaikar can spend that much more time with their families,’’ a senior official at Churchgate said.

While one such train running on pure AC current is already running on the network, the Western Railway is now procuring more such trains to be run on the network. ‘’The first priority is to convert all trains to 12-car and introduce more services. These would be done soon,’’ he added.

‘’The WR will be getting 20 such faster trains running on alternating current from Central Railway, that is converting them internally. The first such retrofitted train is almost ready. In exchange, WR will give their existing DC-AC trains to Central Railway,’’ he added.

Each retrofitted rake is expected to costRs3 crore and will add about 15 years of service lifein the present trains.

The WR had also converted some trains and had earlier given them to CR to be run on Pune section, which will now be returned back in phases as the Pune section is getting trains from the Chennai coach factory.

Speaking on the CR status, an official at CST said the target for conversion of DC to AC on Central Railway was December 12 and that the retrofitted trains were only a stop-gap arrangement till CR completes the entire conversion.

15,000 die each year crossing rail tracks in India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/15000-die-each-year-crossing-rail-tracks-in-India/articleshow/11978800.cms)
AP | Feb 21, 2012, 06.50PM IST

NEW DELHI - About 15,000 people die every year trying to cross the tracks of India's mammoth rail network, a "massacre" that a government committee said was being ignored by railway authorities.

The safety panel said new bridges and overpasses were urgently needed, but it noted previous recommendations to make the world's fourth largest railway system safer had been ignored. Its report noted that railway authorities were unwilling to view the deaths of people hit by trains while crossing the tracks as train accidents.

Most of the deaths occur at unmanned railroad crossings, said the report released over the weekend. About 6,000 people die on Mumbai's crowded suburban rail network alone.

Another 1,000 people die when they fall from crowded coaches, when trains collide or coaches derail, it said.

India's 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) of railway track cut through some of the most densely populated cities, flanked by shanty towns, in the nation of 1.2 billion people.

Railway experts say stopping pedestrians from crossing the tracks in congested areas would be virtually impossible.

"The situation is exceptionally dangerous in Mumbai where four or five tracks, or more, lie parallel and people living in slums on either side have no choice but to walk across the tracks," said I.M.S. Rana, a railway expert.

The High Level Safety Review Committee was set up by the government in September after a spate of train accidents. Around 20 million people in India travel by train each day.

The report called on the government to urgently replace all railroad crossings with bridges or overpasses at an estimated cost of 500 billion rupees ($10 billion) over the next five years.

"No civilized society can accept such a massacre on their railway system," the report said, referring to the crossing deaths.

"Reluctance of the Indian railways to own up to the casualties, which do not fall under the purview of accidents, but are nevertheless accidents on account of trains, can by no means be ignored," the report said.

The panel was especially scathing about the large number of deaths in Mumbai and recommended that the "grim situation on Mumbai's suburban system has to be tackled on a war-footing."

"Trespassing occurs because of lack of barricading, fencing, lack of adequate number of pedestrian overbridges and lack of facilities such as sufficient number of platforms, escalators, elevators for the disabled apart from insufficient train services. These are the main reasons for the heavy human death toll," the report said.

The committee, headed by leading scientist Anil Kakodkar, blamed railway authorities for the "grim picture," saying there were lax safety standards and poor management. Kakodkar headed India's Department of Atomic Energy before he retired last year.

It said local managers are not given adequate power to make crucial decisions and that safety regulations are also breached because of severe manpower shortages.

The panel noted that in the past few decades several new passenger trains had been introduced without any attention paid to enhancing infrastructure required for additional trains, or the financial viability of some trains.

In India, railway ministers resort to populism by introducing new trains, often to gain votes in upcoming elections in their constituencies.

"Political leaders decide on such issues as introducing new trains or increasing train fares. Railway fares have not been increased for nearly a decade," said Rana.

The panel suggested a high-level task force be set up to implement its recommendations relating to safety and that a fee be added to every ticket to form a safety fund.
There are uncivilized forummers in ssc itself who blame people instead of murderer railways. they should fence the tracks in city limits, instead populism fare stagnation prevails. and railways should be made to pay 5 lakh to each railway crossing death then they will learn. escalators in platform 1 are must in mumbai

15,000 die each year crossing rail tracks in India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/15000-die-each-year-crossing-rail-tracks-in-India/articleshow/11978800.cms)
AP | Feb 21, 2012, 06.50PM IST


There are uncivilized forummers in ssc itself who blame people instead of murderer railways. they should fence the tracks in city limits, instead populism fare stagnation prevails. and railways should be made to pay 5 lakh to each railway crossing death then they will learn. escalators in platform 1 are must in mumbai

Yes I agree. Again this part of your post tells the whole story.


"The situation is exceptionally dangerous in Mumbai where four or five tracks, or more, lie parallel and people living in slums on either side have no choice but to walk across the tracks," said I.M.S. Rana, a railway expert.



if there were not many slums on either side of tracks or there were many foot over bridges then the the deaths would have come down drastically. I do not know why Railway is taking this so lightly.

DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_trains-from-howrah-to-ply-on-western-railway_1653292)
Trains from howrah to ply on Western Railway

Thanks to Howrah and Kolkata, Mumbai’s commuters will get more local trains.

In a surprise move, local trains from Howrah have started arriving on Mumbai’s Western Railway.

The first set of 27 coaches arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday morning and they would be formally inducted into the city’s fleet.
The dark-green trains have arrived from South Eastern Railway that caters to West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa and runs similar electric local trains in cities such as Kolkata, Howrah, Kharagpur, Amta, Tatanagar, Santragachi and Shalimar.

“The trains are not old and had been despatched from the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai in early February this year. They have taken the trip across the subcontinent to reach Mumbai,” said a senior official at Churchgate.

The trains run on alternating current (AC) and with WR’s conversion complete, the trains can run here. He said they would be working out new services, which the general manager would formally announce in March.

The AC-powered trains can only run on WR and in the Pune section of CR, where the conversion has been completed.
The official said the coaches belong to 10 and 11 series and have motor coaches attached to the driving cabs which have single large windows for motormen.

These trains will be customised according to the composition of Mumbai coaches which has ladies, general, first class and handicapped compartments and synchronised in the Mumbai’s violet or red colour. Other features of these trains are common as per the Siemens trains.

DNA had reported on Monday that the conversion from direct current to alternating current on February 5 had led to increase in speed and overall efficiency of trains on the Western Railway.
This has created more space, which will now lead to faster trains and additional services for 33.91 lakh passengers on Western Railway every day.

I so much wish that they give these trains the red color as the BEST buses as a part of the public transportation color.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2012/02/23/Article//005/23_02_2012_005_007.jpg

http://in.video.yahoo.com/news-26036098/national-26073656/haste-crushes-man-beneath-train-28389370.html

Would it kill them to install railings

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2012/02/25/Article//008/25_02_2012_008_006.jpg

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^^ Gr8 pics Mohit :cheers:

Any news about the progress of DC to AC conversion work on the Kalyan-Thane Stretch? The last 3 megablocks i have read involved the stretch between Kalyan and Thane. The work was supposed to be completed by Dec 2011. :ohno:

Blame the broad gauge here. It requires quite wide a gap between ends of two adjacent compartments to facilitate navigation of the train on curves, without the ends hitting each other. So imagine a broad vestibule, even of 3/4 th width of the compartment... on curves (and specially on really tighter ones), the vestibule wall on inner side of the curve would come quite near and the outer will stretch out equally. Now imagine commuters standing right on the vestibules (I have seen this in Delhi metro, Tokyo metro, et al)... Having narrow vestibules, like those in long distance trains, in local trains won't help... can't imagine people trying to move across in the super dense crush loaded trains.

The BG lines are nothing but cargo and cattle movers and that is the fundamental flaw in IR design. As such Brits considered (and consider) Indians to be cattle! No wonder that across the world, majority of the metro systems are standard gauge that helps trains navigate even tighter curves at higher speeds and other things such as through-vestibules also fit in comfortably.

Regarding power units, the bigger the size of the trainset, bigger the power units... Good that sense prevailed in Delhi metro and they switched to standard gauge after having broad gauge for first line...

You are not totally correct..Gaping between the coaches depends on which type of couplers and which technology for coupling is used.I think you haven't noticed the LHB Rakes which uses Automatic Couplers.This technology has enabled to decrease the gap between the coaches.Regarding Wide Vestibule a broad gauge train can have wide vestibule as well like standard gauge train.Delhi Metro Broad gauge coaches have wide vestibules.To make a vestibule wide it needs to relocate the machinery and electronic equipments which are stays beside the vestibule in different a position.Just notice the following pictures.Both of this rakes are broad gauge rake.Check the vestibules:-

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_gA1FDJUp4mU/TK6d-sDE59I/AAAAAAAAA4k/lagES4UM_w0/s1600/Underground_Metro,_Calcutta.JPG
Kolkata Metro

http://images.travelpod.com/users/jlidgett/1.1271299912.delhi-metro.jpg
Delhi Metro

Any news about the progress of DC to AC conversion work on the Kalyan-Thane Stretch? The last 3 megablocks i have read involved the stretch between Kalyan and Thane. The work was supposed to be completed by Dec 2011. :ohno:

Here is the update

Mumbai: Train shortage delays DC-AC conversion (http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MAH-MUM-train-shortage-delays-dc-ac-conversion-2567707.html)

Mumbai: Commuters on Central Railway (CR) will have to put up with the old trains and limited speeds for some more time as CR is facing shortage of trains which will run on the new alternating current (AC) technology which the CR is upgrading itself to.

CR requires 140 trains that will run on new power mode and currently it has just 53. While officials said the deadline for the project is December 2012, sources said it is impractical as there is no plan or idea regarding how the CR will be able to procure the remaining 87 trains within a year.

Officials said that the conversion will be done in six phases. The six phases will be Kalyan-Thane, Thane-Kurla, Thane-Vashi, Mankhurd-Panvel, Kurla-CST and CST-Mankhurd.

"Phase 1 of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) is complete and a majority of the trains that are expected to arrive have already come. Just seven more trains are expected under the old project. Trains under the new phase will start arriving next year and there is no way that 87 trains can come before 2012 as even during peak production, the railways have been able to get only five trains per month,'' a senior official said.

Western Railway on Sunday completed switching a major portion of its lines to the new AC lines and plans to complete more by this year-end. However, CR's conversion process is likely to get delayed.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Experts-recommend-elevated-corridor-faster-trains-for-city/Article1-818165.aspx
Experts recommend elevated corridor, faster trains for city


A panel of experts formed to recommend ways to modernise the railway, headed by advisor to the Prime Minister Sam Pitroda, has recommended that the railways should go ahead with the elevated rail project for suburban services in the city.

In its report submitted to Union railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, the group upheld the plans to build elevated corridor to cope with increasing number of suburban commuters. It has given a total of 113 recommendations on topics varying from tracks and bridges, signalling, rolling stock, stations and terminals, land and airspace use, dedicated freight corridors, etc.

Pointing out that the elevated corridor would cost Rs20,000 crore, the panel said it should be construction through the public-private partnership (PPP) model. However, to make the project financially viable for the private partner, the railways should contribute 20% of its cost, the report said.

The seven-member panel, formed in September last year, also recommended that suburban trains be upgraded to stainless steal and the introduction of the three-phase technology at a cost Rs12,000 crore.

For raising funds, the group suggested that the railways use land assets through creative PPP initiatives. “Proper use of surplus land and airspace can mobilise Rs50,000 crore for the railways,” the report said.

Apart from this, the committee recommended construction of the high-speed rail corridor between Ahmedabad and Mumbai with speed of 350 kmph, which is estimated to cost Rs60,000 crore.

It also recommended changes in the administrative set up of the railway board. “The report will first go to the railway board. After studying it, the board will decide whether to adopt the whole report or a few of recommendations of it,” said a Central Railway official.

What are those Dark Green Rakes for? Mumbai? or another city?


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What are those Dark Green Rakes for? Mumbai? or another city?

for mumbai from kolkata

those dark green rakes look uglier than the current rakes...

Those colors will be changed to Mumbai trains.

those dark green rakes look uglier than the current rakes...

read article posted above it says that those rakes will be modified for use in Mumbai

Those colors will be changed to Mumbai trains.

Which will progressively evolve into Patches of White + Purple + Light/Dark Brown depending on the brand of Pan/Gutkha most consumed. Who the **** at NID picked these colours? :bash:

for mumbai from kolkata

Calcutta2Bombay :lol:

Calcutta2Bombay :lol:

:lol:

:lol:

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2012/02/29/Article//006/29_02_2012_006_005.jpg

^^

I believe some of the reporters are following SSCI. :)

Any news about the progress of DC to AC conversion work on the Kalyan-Thane Stretch? The last 3 megablocks i have read involved the stretch between Kalyan and Thane. The work was supposed to be completed by Dec 2011. :ohno:

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/MRVC-for-private-player-to-run-new-routes/articleshow/12090857.cms)
MRVC for private player to run new routes

MUMBAI: The absence of a fare hike has prompted the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to consider forming of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) by involving a private player to operate two proposed suburban corridors-CST-Panvel elevated route and Panvel-Diva-Vasai-Virar line.

"If the concept gains acceptance, the two routes will not be part of the traditional suburban network. The separate entity will have financial and operational autonomy," a senior MRVC official said.

Despite handling large passenger traffic, suburban networks on Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) are not yielding any profit as fares have remained static for almost a decade. Providing another example, the official said, the World Bank (WB) has funded phases I and II of the MUTP to expand the suburban railway infrastructure in Mumbai and the amount was to be repaid by levying a surcharge on the fare.

According to an agreement with the WB, a surcharge of 30% on the fare was to be levied since 2003. It was envisioned that this will be doubled and tripled by 2006 and 2009. However, the railway ministry refused to increase the surcharge after 2003.

"Since the surcharge has not to be extracted as originally planned, it is estimated that there is an under-recovery to the tune of Rs 560 crore, which was to be equally shared between the railway ministry and state government for repayment of loan," an official added.

I have seen one on these green colour train just now in Mumbai Central EMU car shed....

I have seen one on these green colour train just now in Mumbai Central EMU car shed....

then guess they have parked some trains in Mumbai central and others in virar carshed....

With 25 entry-exit points and roof plazas, Dadar will be A model railway station in 2 years

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source : DNA Mumbai 3-3-2012

Rail minister gets taste of peak-hour rush

DNA Correspondent
Union minister for railways Dinesh Trivedi created a flutter at Dadar station in the morning peak hour on Friday, greeting shoe-shine boys, commuters and rail officials.
He was accompanied by minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa and railway board chairman Vinay Mittal and the top brass of Indian Railways. As he entered the station premise of Dadar east on CR’s platform number six followed by tense rail babus, he first chose to greet a shoe-shine boy, Sarwan Ram (35), who was being asked to get up by the railway cops as the minister approached.
“The minister was nice. He asked me to continue doing my job and stopped the cops from removing me,’’ Ram told DNA. He later took the Foot over bridge and spent time in one corner of the bridge, understanding details of the Dadar station revamp plan from architect PK Das and later went up the terrace of the ticket reservation centre to get an overall view of the station.
Trivedi got a first-hand experience of the peak hour crowd on the 12-foot wide foot over-bridge as he walked with his entourage. On his way back, a senior citizen spoke to the minister asking him more facilities like special trains for ladies. The minister gave him a hearing and left the station to meet chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. Earlier in the day, he also visited Bandra station.

source : DNA Mumbai Mar 03, 2012

With 25 entry-exit points and roof plazas, Dadar will be A model railway station in 2 years

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/6813/03032012am113529.jpg|

source : DNA Mumbai 3-3-2012

No way.

Rail minister gets taste of peak-hour rush

DNA Correspondent
Union minister for railways Dinesh Trivedi created a flutter at Dadar station in the morning peak hour on Friday, greeting shoe-shine boys, commuters and rail officials.
He was accompanied by minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa and railway board chairman Vinay Mittal and the top brass of Indian Railways. As he entered the station premise of Dadar east on CR’s platform number six followed by tense rail babus, he first chose to greet a shoe-shine boy.
source : DNA Mumbai Mar 03, 2012

If only the crowd could have pushed and shoved him around, he would have got a real taste of Mumbai's peak hours! Walking with huge convoy of Railway babus and 20m clear, both aft and fore, wont give us a thing like what the past budgets have shown.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Fast-tracking-of-projects-on-Chavan-s-wish-list-for-railways/Article1-820041.aspx

Putting the Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor and Nerul-Uran railway line project on the fast track were some of the demands made by the state government in its wish list presented to the Union railway minister Dinesh Trivedi on Friday.

In a closed door meeting with Trivedi at
Sahyadri guesthouse, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan presented his Mumbai-centric charter of demands. Chavan requested the levying of Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) surcharge on suburban passengers, proposed long time ago, to recover the cost of project, said a senior railway official on condition on anonymity.

The CM also wants the railways to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor. The project was announced in the railway budget a few years ago and a detailed technical survey too has been done for the same.

As the much-delayed Nerul-Uran railway line project is going at a snail's pace, the state has requested the minister to approve a revised budget for it. The Rs495 crore project was started by the railways in collaboration with the state and Cidco in 1996.

Demanding a coaching complex near Panvel station for which land will be provided by the state, the CM asked for a check on the financial viability of the project.

The state government also tried to give a push to the third phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-III). The plan is to add CST-Panvel elevated corridor via Navi Mumbai airport, CST-Thane elevated corridor, Virar-Diva-Panvel corridor to the project.

"The state wants MUTP-III to be sanctioned in the upcoming railway budget," said a press release issued by the state government.

Twenty-eight MPs including Sanjay Nirupam, Priya Dutt, Eknath Gaikwad and Gurudas Kamat were present at the meeting.

Rajya Sabha members such as Bhalchandra Mungekar and YP Tiwari also attended the meeting.

While Nirupam demanded trains from Bandra to Konkan, Kamat requested that there should be no hike in fares. Dutt asked for development of Kurla station and Gaikwad demanded protection for slums along the railway tracks.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2012/02/29/Article//006/29_02_2012_006_005.jpg

escalators at stations are welcome :banana:

Guys has any one noticed that since the new conversion of power on overhead wire at few specific location lights & fans on the EMU's gets switched off and restart again after few seconds..

I have noticed on WR track number 4, fast track towards Churchgate, just opposite to Elphiston road station and track number 1, slow track towards dadar, between Mahalaxmi and Lower Parel.

Since the whole WR is under new AC current then this shouldn't be an issue isn't it?

^^ That does happen even if there is only AC. Same thing happens in Delhi metro also at specific points. It's because different sub stations feed different sections of a line and in between two such sections there is a small neutral section which does not have any power supply. I don't know the reason of keeping these neutral sections.

Guys has any one noticed that since the new conversion of power on overhead wire at few specific location lights & fans on the EMU's gets switched off and restart again after few seconds..

I have noticed on WR track number 4, fast track towards Churchgate, just opposite to Elphiston road station and track number 1, slow track towards dadar, between Mahalaxmi and Lower Parel.

Since the whole WR is under new AC current then this shouldn't be an issue isn't it?
-I think there are still AC-AC Neutral zones to isolate different sections with different AC voltage phases.
-Also some bridges are low. So the voltage may be discontinued for short stretches under the bridges to prevent any arcing (I stand corrected here).

Guys has any one noticed that since the new conversion of power on overhead wire at few specific location lights & fans on the EMU's gets switched off and restart again after few seconds..

I have noticed on WR track number 4, fast track towards Churchgate, just opposite to Elphiston road station and track number 1, slow track towards dadar, between Mahalaxmi and Lower Parel.

Since the whole WR is under new AC current then this shouldn't be an issue isn't it?

even i ve experienced it between borivali and kandivali.....everyday the power goes off for a couple of seconds at a point between these stations...

-I think there are still AC-AC Neutral zones to isolate different sections with different AC voltage phases.
-Also some bridges are low. So the voltage may be discontinued for short stretches under the bridges to prevent any arcing (I stand corrected here).

I can understand abt the bridge issue....

But AC-AC neutral zone, I personally don't think should be created... y would they have different voltage phase on different section...

Since they have converted to AC... railways are announcing at the station, that the overhead wires are charged at 25000 voltage..

DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_trains-from-howrah-to-ply-on-western-railway_1653292)
Trains from howrah to ply on Western Railway

Thanks to Howrah and Kolkata, Mumbai’s commuters will get more local trains.

In a surprise move, local trains from Howrah have started arriving on Mumbai’s Western Railway.

The first set of 27 coaches arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday morning and they would be formally inducted into the city’s fleet.
The dark-green trains have arrived from South Eastern Railway that caters to West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa and runs similar electric local trains in cities such as Kolkata, Howrah, Kharagpur, Amta, Tatanagar, Santragachi and Shalimar.

“The trains are not old and had been despatched from the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai in early February this year. They have taken the trip across the subcontinent to reach Mumbai,” said a senior official at Churchgate.

The trains run on alternating current (AC) and with WR’s conversion complete, the trains can run here. He said they would be working out new services, which the general manager would formally announce in March.

The AC-powered trains can only run on WR and in the Pune section of CR, where the conversion has been completed.
The official said the coaches belong to 10 and 11 series and have motor coaches attached to the driving cabs which have single large windows for motormen.

These trains will be customised according to the composition of Mumbai coaches which has ladies, general, first class and handicapped compartments and synchronised in the Mumbai’s violet or red colour. Other features of these trains are common as per the Siemens trains.

DNA had reported on Monday that the conversion from direct current to alternating current on February 5 had led to increase in speed and overall efficiency of trains on the Western Railway.
This has created more space, which will now lead to faster trains and additional services for 33.91 lakh passengers on Western Railway every day.



According to western railway dis howrah trains are wider den our normal trains see dis link
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=5&edcode=820009&eddate=2012-3-06




http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=5&edcode=820009&eddate=2012-3-06

But AC-AC neutral zone, I personally don't think should be created... y would they have different voltage phase on different section...


I think those are to avoid mixing of the out-of-phase supplies across the different AC power feeder sections. I remember reading this in some technical paper on Shinkansen (bullet) trains. Unfortunately am unable to find the bookmark...

Ok got this on wikipedia... Neutral Section (Phase Break) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overhead_lines#Neutral_Section_.28Phase_Break.29)

According to western railway dis howrah trains are wider den our normal trains see dis link
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=5&edcode=820009&eddate=2012-3-06




http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=5&edcode=820009&eddate=2012-3-06

text view:

WR clueless about Howrah coaches (http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=5&edcode=820009&eddate=2012-3-06)
DNA Correspondent


http://cdn.epaper.dnaindia.com/EpaperImages//mumbai//06032012//d150863-large.jpg

In a major development, the Western Railway (WR)on Monday said that they are clueless about what to do with the 27 coaches that have been procured from Howrah as they are “completely non-compatible’’ with Mumbai’s local trains.
DNA had first reported that trains from Howrah had been brought to Mumbai. “We cannot take the risk of changing coaches and alignments of local trains here as Mumbai’s people will not accept it. We do not want to take the risk,’’ he said.
Sources said the 12-foot wide trains could be deployed on the Pune-Lonavala section.
Courtesy: Prakash Tendulkar


At 7 paise/km, Mumbai local fare cheapest (http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=5&edcode=820009&eddate=2012-3-06)
l Former railway board chairman Vivek Sahai says fare hike is necessary to maintain quality of public transport
Rajendra Aklekar
In probably the lowest fare per kilometre in the world, Mumbai’s suburban railway commuters pay 7 paise per km for a second class season ticket (pass) that offers them unlimited monthly travel. A commuter pays just 25 paise per km on a single journey second class ticket, while a first class monthly season ticket costs a mere 25 paise per km.
:bash: no rationale behind subsidising

Pics taken by me @ Nallasopara Station....

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/6816106060_0341a6d0a1_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7205/6816104918_b04a8a065e_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6962221625_4a98cd7ac3_b.jpg

:nuts: its crazy as hell man!! Remembered my days in Mumbai!
:cheers: Cheers to the city and its people, most in any city to use public transportation for commuting!!
Mumbai-Maximum City

Mumbai-Maximum City

that reminds me where is dread?

Somehow reached office in this crushing load that day ......and yes mumbai rocks..... :righton:

hardly any women in those pics

Ladies ka dibba alag hota hai.

that reminds me where is dread?

Dread is that TAKLYAA ujadaa chaman in black shirt (first pictures from bottom)
(look at the guy crossing the tracks.. and the kaloo taklya is almost opposite to him)

^^ all people carrying bags, school going people or what :)

^^ all people carrying bags, school going people or what :)

That's infact a good observation. A lot of mumbaikars carry bagpacks. Guess coz of the ease of carrying in buses and trains. And a considerable amount of time is also spent getting to and fro railway stations and bus stops.

Good shots there mohit!

Dread is that TAKLYAA ujadaa chaman in black shirt (first pictures from bottom)
(look at the guy crossing the tracks.. and the kaloo taklya is almost opposite to him)

oh :lol:

^^ all people carrying bags, school going people or what :)

normally during peak hours many ppl board the train while its still in motion(b4 stopping)....this becomes very difficult when u have a bag in ur hand & so many people prefer taking bags that u can wear on the shoulders......also inside the train it bcomes easy to hold the rods above u when both ur hands are free.....

That's infact a good observation. A lot of mumbaikars carry bagpacks. Guess coz of the ease of carrying in buses and trains. And a considerable amount of time is also spent getting to and fro railway stations and bus stops.

Good shots there mohit!

thnx... :)

I have some crude thoughts on modernisation of Mumbai Locals. There was a news item in TOI today about the declining (or not increasing) traffic south of Andheri (which will futher decline on account of metro) and introduction of new services between Andheri and Virar, in line with increasing traffic in that section.

They should try halt all the current non-airconditioned locals at Dadar. And completely introduce airconditioned (AC) from Dadar to Churchgate with side facing seats just like Metro, which increases the capacity (and possibly they have to try modernisation of signalling). There may be inconevenience for people travelling beyond Dadar, but compensated by increased comfort. We have to start the modernisation somewhere. Slowly they need to extend this to Bandra , Andheri and similarly in central line.

Ultimately, only fast trains should have current seating arrangement. Slow trains should have metro-like seating arrangement to increase capacity. The average distance travelled by Mumbaikar is slightly on a decline due to continuous northward shift of business hubs.

I know, IR is not capable of such things. But our airports went through such modernsiation programmes. Possible, if they hive it off from IR.

text view:

WR clueless about Howrah coaches (http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=5&edcode=820009&eddate=2012-3-06)
DNA Correspondent





Masterclass mis-communication, mis-management!

Source: http://business-standard.com/india/news/bonanza-for-mumbai-rail-commuters/467775/

Commuters in Mumbai got a bonanza from the railway budget, with the proposal for 75 additional services and 1,500 coaches for local trains, expansion of the suburban rail network and addition of more services.

The minister has proposed an elevated corridor from Churchgate to Virar. Trains with 12 cars are proposed on the harbour line for Navi Mumbai, where an international airport is being developed. Double-lining on Belapur-Seawood-Uran is in progress, providing direct passenger connectivity to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Navi Mumbai).

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who had given a wish list to Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi during a meeting on March 2, welcomed all these. He told Business Standard: “The proposals do full justice to Mumbai and Maharashtra. We are fully satisfied.”

The proposed elevated corridor from Churchgate to Virar is to be done through the public-private-participation (PPP) method with the government of Maharashtra. The project will enable introduction of premium air-conditioned suburban rail services. A pre- feasibility survey for a similar corridor between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Kalyan (55 km) is also proposed in due course.

A coaching complex in Navi Mumbai at Panvel and a coach maintenance complex at Kalamboli, in partnership with the state government’s City and Industrial Development Corporation are also planned. This will facilitate direct connectivity of Navi Mumbai to other parts of the country.

Modernising the electric traction system for suburban services has been done on the entire Western Railway portion through the city. Trivedi said similar conversion would be completed during 2012-13 on the Central Railway portion, which also extends to Pune. This would mean higher speed, reduced journey time and savings in operational cost.

The minister said phase-I of the flagship Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) had been completed, with investment of Rs 4,500 crore. Rail users in Mumbai had benefited with induction of 1,500 electric multiple unit coaches, increasing the carrying capacity by a third. Work on phase-II at a cost of Rs 5,300 crore is progressing. A schedule for MUTP-III had been prepared and Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation would do a feasibility study for construction of faster corridors on the CST (main)-Panvel and Virai-Vasai-Diva-Panvel sections.

A proposed 72-km Virar-Panvel third line in the PPP mode would open avenues for development of the city’s northern part and facilitate commuting between the eastern and western parts. The feasibility of a spur from Panvel to Navi Mumbai airport is to also be examined.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/budget-2012/rail-budget/Mumbai-Rail-Vikas-Corporation-fast-tracks-CST-Panvel-corridor/articleshow/12256622.cms

The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has expedited the groundwork for the ambitious CST-Panvel high-speed corridor and Panvel-Diva-Virar route by asking the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) to submit an interim report on the technical feasibility of these projects by June. It also last week asked Pricewaterhouse Coopers to carry out a financial study on the two planned undertakings and submit a report within three months.

"We are going full steam ahead on these projects. After the two reports are received, we will approach the Maharashtra government, which can share the cost of the projects with us through the City and Development Corporation," a senior MRVC official said.

Still, railway officials are hoping that Union minister Dinesh Trivedi would give the two projects an impetus by mentioning them in Wednesday's budget.

According to the concept plan approved for projects to be taken up under Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III, the number of passengers on Central Railway's Main Line and Western Railway has been growing annually by about 3%. At the same time, the passenger load has been increasing annually on Harbour and Transharbour network by 10%.

The load, officials fear, will worsen as the Vashi-Panvel belt develops further due to projects such as the Navi Mumbai airport, a new special economic zone, and the expansion of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. "We need to decongest the Harbour Line network," the MRVC official said. "The proposed Panvel-Diva-Vasai-Virar corridor will help develop new townships along this route."

MRVC is keen to develop the two projects on the public-private partnership model by floating a special purpose vehicle. Under this model, the private player will perform the day-to-day operations, such as running of services, collection of fare and the like. The management control, though, will remain with the MRVC so that it can ensure a balance between profitability and commuter interest.

70 lakh hopes pinned on rail budget.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_70-lakh-hopes-pinned-on-rail-budget_1662106

Expect improvements to the harbour line, more 15-car trains and funds for projects that fall under the third phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) in the Union Railway Budget 2012-13 to be presented in the Parliament on Wednesday.
Funds for the MUTP-II, including procurement of Mumbai Bombardier local trains, and financial closure of Phase-I of the project are also expected.

While the Central Railway and Western Railway collectively earn Rs1,000-1,200 crore per year, more than double the amount is usually allocated to Mumbai including for the on-going MUTP, in the railway budget, >(, said a senior railway official.

If the ministry gives the green light to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s proposal to levy surcharge on MUTP-I, the 70 lakh railway commuters in Mumbai can expect a minor hike in suburban train fare.

“The Rs4,500-crore MUTP-I has been completed. The Indian Railways and Maharashtra government had taken a loan of around Rs1,650 crore to fund the project, which was to be repaid at 8% rate and a surcharge was to be levied on tickets every three years which would have garnered Rs240 crore. The first surcharge was to be levied in 2003, the second in 2006 and the third in 2009. But, till date, not a single surcharge has been levied,’’ another railway official said.

A recent comparative study by former railway board chairman Vivek Sahai has revealed that the Mumbai’s suburban railway fare 7paise per km is probably the lowest in the world.

^^ Does the earnings include the rental income from shops and establishments, and other ancillary services? The Railways has hived off all this profit-making non-core activities to IRCTC and is not reported in the financial statements of the Indian Railways.

From budget speach:

50. Electrification on Indian Railways had its advent with the introduction of 1500 volt DC traction system in Mumbai area during 1925 to 1929 for running of suburban services. The system had outlived its utility and required replacement to the modern 25000 volt AC system. It is my proud privilege to share with the august House that the challenging task of conversion from DC to AC has been successfully achieved on the entire Western Railway portion. Similar conversions will be completed during 2012-13 on the Central Railway portion which extends to Pune. This will give significant benefits by way of higher speeds, reduced journey time and substantial savings in operational costs.

Metropolitan Transport Projects
55. I am extremely happy to inform the august House that Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has successfully completed its flagship project of MUTP Phase I costing `4,500 crore with the cooperation of Government of Maharashtra and other stakeholders. Rail users in Mumbai have immensely benefitted with the induction of 1500 EMU coaches, thus increasing the carrying capacity by 35% and thereby reducing the congestion and overcrowding during peak hours. The work on MUTP Phase II at a cost of `5,300 crore is also progressing well and its completion will further boost the suburban transport services in Mumbai. A road map for MUTP III has been prepared to further strengthen and augment the suburban rail infrastructure and MRVC would carry out feasibility study for construction of faster corridors on CSTM-Panvel and Virar-Vasai-Diva-Panvel sections through innovative financing mechanisms. The proposed 72 km link between Virar-Panvel 3rd line in the PPP mode will open new avenues for development of northern part of Mumbai and facilitate commuters to transit between eastern and western parts of the city. Feasibility of a spur from Panvel to Navi Mumbai airport will also be examined.

56. Madam, in order to address the transport needs in Navi Mumbai area, I am happy to announce that works will be taken up to facilitate running of 12-car rakes on Harbour line. A new double line work of Belapur-Seawood-Uran is in progress, which will provide direct passenger connectivity to JNPT.

Elevated Suburban Corridor in Mumbai
57. The financial modelling of an elevated rail corridor from Churchgate to Virar to be executed through PPP mode in coordination with the Government of Maharashtra is being firmed up. The proposed project will enable introduction of premium AC suburban rail services. A prefeasibility survey for a similar corridor between CST and Kalyan (55 km) is also proposed to be taken up in due course.


72 escalators proposed for WR, CR stations, 1 at Dadar (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/72-escalators-proposed-for-WR-CR-stations-1-at-Dadar/articleshow/12285869.cms)
Manthan K Mehta, TNN | Mar 16, 2012, 06.27AM IST

MUMBAI: Funds have been proposed for more than 70 escalators at WR and CR stations. However, apart from Dadar, there is still no word on which stations this facility will come up at.

A new 6m-wide foot overbridge (FOB) with elevator-cum-staircases has been proposed at Dadar. The estimated cost for this is Rs 2.58 crore. Apart from this, 41 escalators have been proposed on the CR network, including the Mumbai division. A senior CR official said, "Eight escalators have been proposed for Mumbai, for which a fund of Rs 1.3 crore has been proposed."

On WR, 30 escalators are likely to come up at 10 stations in the zone. An amount of Rs 2.6 crore has been proposed for the work. A senior WR official said, "A majority of it will come up in Mumbai, while a few may also come up at important stations like Surat, Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat."

The proposal of outlay in the budget may not necessarily mean that work will begin on the ground. "The fund can also be used to carry out survey at stations to identify locations. In many cases, where locations are to be finalized, the money can be used to float tenders. In instances of sites being identified, money can be spent in stages, depending on the progress."
Finally some sense, local trains can become as good as metro with escalators. People wont cross tracks instead all will use foot overbridges reducing accidents :banana:

Rs 2 cr earmarked for Thane station

MUMBAI: The overcrowded and busy Thane station is set for a Rs 2 crore makeover in the second phase of the improvement project-one that will address its many infrastructural problems. Over the last few years, passenger count has increased dramatically, but the station's facilities failed to keep pace. A senior railway official said, "The total cost of the project for Phase-II is estimated to be Rs 8.23 crore." Work in this phase includes improving the platforms and opening more modernized booking offices. The funds will be used to facilities for commuters.

For Phase-1 of the project, officials have started remodelling the yard. Also, an AC dormitory has already been opened for the comfort of long-distance passengers. "Besides this, we are in the middle of extending platform nos. five and six," said a senior railway official. Thane station will also get a foot-over bridge. Other beneficiary stations include Borivli-its 12m FOB will be one of the biggest in India-Santa Cruz, Kandivli and Malad stations. The railways have also tried to reduce over-crowding by earmarking Rs 66 lakh for the extension of smart-card operated Automated Ticket Vending Machines on CR. Another Rs 10 lakh has been earmarked for ATVMs on WR.





http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Rs-2-cr-earmarked-for-Thane-station/articleshow/12285872.cmsakhand»

L&Ts Seawoods station project going on full pace. Site prep is done

http://i44.tinypic.com/2elwpl2.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2cfzeav.jpg

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_andheri-the-next-railway-hub-in-mumbai_1664657
Andheri, the next railway hub in Mumbai

With the rail budget formally approving the Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor on the western line, three corridors — the existing rail lines, the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro and the elevated corridor — will meet at Andheri, one level above the other, making the station a rail hub.

While the existing station will continue to be at the ground level, the Metro lines will pass over the rail lines above them. The proposed two-line elevated corridor that envisages running of 15-car air-conditioned trains will pass above the Metro lines, almost 20 metres high, having a station on the top.

“The elevated corridor will be passing above these two lines. Eventually, when these three lines are fully operational, it would be prudent to have a single three-tier station with
fully-equipped amenities and commercial complex,’’ a senior railway planner said, on condition
ofanonymity.

Currently, the railways are developing and upgrading Andheri station to build a swank structure, while the Mumbai Metro engineers are building their own elevated station building outside Andheri east.

The 2012-13 railway budget had announced that the 63-km elevated corridor between Churchgate-Virar will run above the existing corridor. Planned to be financed through a public-private partnership, the estimated cost of the line is Rs15,500 crore. It will also pave the way for running premium air-conditioned services on the suburban network.

A pre-feasibility survey for a similar 55-km-long elevated corridor on the Mumbai CST-Kalyan sector will also be taken up.
The Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor was first proposed by former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in 2007.

According to the railway’s project document, a two-track elevated corridor with a capacity to run 15-coach trains at a maximum frequency of 90 seconds has been proposed above the existing corridor.

As the buildings near Charni Road and Grant Road stations obstruct the path, the consultant has suggested an underground corridor for that stretch, between Grant Road and Churchgate and ahead to the Oval Maidan, if it is extended.

“A common station for all three like those abroad will be an obvious project for better integration and commuter convenience,’’ the planner added.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_andheri-the-next-railway-hub-in-mumbai_1664657
Andheri, the next railway hub in Mumbai

“The elevated corridor will be passing above these two lines. Eventually, when these three lines are fully operational, it would be prudent to have a single three-tier station with
fully-equipped amenities and commercial complex,’’ a senior railway planner said, on condition
ofanonymity.

Though the intentions seem to be fantastic, some questions nonetheless:


Is the dude serious? After so much effort in constructing the metro station, how will it be possible to "integrate" the stations. (As far as I know the metro station is a bit of a walk from the railway station. I may be missing something, would like to know what.

15 coach A/C trains seems good on paper. But wudn't they rather convert the current services to 15-car so that the current over crowding is taken care of?

To accomodate such long trains, the size of the current platforms will have to be replicated above the ground! (The context here is that it is the IR that is constructing it and not MMRDA). Their reputation in completing projects cant exactly be termed as efficient.

Does the estimated cost of Rs 15,500 crore (approximately $3 Bn) seem reasonable? I wud think it will be much higher.

Lastly - and most importantly - Anyone aware of the rough timeline of the elevated corridor? Im aware it falls under MUTP III so the target could very well be 2035!

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/New-railway-corridors-promise-faster-more-comfortable-travel-for-Mumbaiites/Article1-827466.aspx)
New railway corridors promise faster, more comfortable travel for Mumbaiites


The Union railway budget is likely to kick off efforts to improve and speed up connectivity between Mumbai and its far-flung suburbs in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Once the proposed rail corridors get going, they will revolutionise mass transport in and around Mumbai, and possibly start the process of decongesting Mumbai.

Currently, Mumbaiites contend with several issues. The routes - Churchgate to Virar on the western line, CST to Karjat-Kasara on the central line and CST to Panvel on the harbour line -are over-burdened because of the lack of alternative options.

Also, while these lines offer south-north connectivity, the eastern and the western suburbs are poorly linked to each other.

There are also no good transport options for those who would be interested in buying homes and shifting to the far-flung suburbs.

The budget has attempted to address these problems.

The railway minister announced in the budget that the financial module for the Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor would be finalised and that a survey would be conducted for the proposed CST-Kalyan elevated corridor. Both these corridors can give commuters the option of travelling faster and more comfortably in AC trains. It will cost more than the regular route, but it can help reduce the number of private vehicles on the roads.

The proposed CST-Panvel corridor will serve the same purpose on the harbour line, besides providing a connection to the second airport in Navi Mumbai.

By proposing the Virar-Vasai-Diva-Panvel corridor, which is part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project III, the Railways are also providing east-west connectivity within the MMR.

The budget has proposed several more surveys in the MMR, including the Thane-Navi Mumbai airport line, the Vasai-Thane-Diva double line and the Pen-Thal (near Alibaug) line.

"Mobility in Mumbai and in the vicinity will improve with these lines," said Arun Mokashi, urban transport expert.

Experts feel the city is in desperate need of rail lines that will connect the central and the western suburbs. "The new corridors announced in the budget will connect these missing links," said Ashok Datar, urban transport expert.

Datar, however, does not think the elevated corridors are a good idea. "The Railways should try to disperse the crowd instead of putting new overhead line on the same corridor," he said. Mokashi feels building these elevated corridors will be challenging.

"The implementation of MUTP II and III can solve the connectivity problem, but rail projects are not progressing as expected," said Mokashi.

Under MUTP III, Uran, Alibaug, and Pen in Raigad are likely to be connected with the suburban network.

After converting all its trains into 12-car on the mainline, the Central Railway is now ready with a blueprint for running 15-car local trains on the fast corridor that would be integrated with the existing services. While preparatory works have begun on running the world’s longest train on the country’s oldest railway, the train will actually be run only after monsoon ends.

DNA had first reported, in September 2011, that the CR was planning to run the 15-car locals on its mainline network. Stating that the train would be integrated in the existing timetable and not be an additional service, a senior CR official said,“It will carry 33% more crowd than the existing 12-car train.”

‘’Running a longer train is not an issue, but we want to be prepared for it. Besides lending additional length to platforms, additional staircases would also need to be built to the existing bridges, so that the existing infrastructure is able to take the additional crowd of the trains,’’ he added.

While crucialstations like Dadar, Thane and Kalyan have long enough platforms to accommodate a 15-car train, the rest would need an upgrade. “While the train will mostly run on the fast corridor, we are exploring options on how and where it could be stabled, the terminating and starting points,’’ the official added.

The CR’s plan is quite in contrast with the Western Railway, which kick-started a 15-car train without planning in 2009, but is yet to convert even its nine-car trains. This led to confusion and chaos among commuters. In fact, the 15-car train on WR does not even have any prominent signage for commuters, indicating so.

An average nine-car train has a seating capacity of 876 and 1,752 standees.A 12-car train can seat 1,168 and accommodate 2,336 standees.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_15-car-locals-on-central-line-after-monsoon_1665652

MUMBAI: Western Railway will introduce 36 suburban services, including two 15-car trains, from March 27. The additional services will be able to accommodate 1.5 lakh more commuters, officials said.

Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer, WR, said, "The services have been introduced as part of budgetary commitments. With this, WR will have introduced 40 services during the fiscal year."

The time table of the services has been designed keeping in mind the increase in commuters in the Borivli-Virar belt. Eighteen services will run between Borivli-Virar-Borivli, while six each will ply between Andheri-Virar-Andheri and Churchgate-Virar-Churchgate. Two services each will be between Bandra-Virar-Bandra and Dadar-Virar-Bandra. One service will run between Churchgate and Virar. The daily number of services on WR will now be 1,250.

Chandrayan said, "Fifteencar services will increase to 14 and 12-car services to 1,040."

WR said there has been a 140% increase in 12-car services in five years, while the increase in suburban passengers has been 11%. The density of passengers per coach has reduced by 16% due to an increase in capacity by 32%.

Mamata Banerjee had announced in the 2010-11 Union railway budget that 47 services would be introduced in the Mumbai suburban sector. Central Railway has fulfilled its quota by introducing 19 services. WR has been able to increase services due to the conversion of traction from 1,500 volts DC to 25,000 volts AC. "The conversion will lead to improvement in the speed of trains, thus helping squeeze in more services," he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Western-Railway-plans-36-more-services-from-Tuesday/articleshow/12363332.cms

A day after the railway budget was announced, Central Railways’ general manager Subodh Jain, in tandem with divisional manager Rahul Jain, personally visited Sandhurst Road station last

Thursday to examine the feasibility of extending platforms to run 12-car trains on the Harbour line.

Officials said they would convert the section between Mankhurd and Wadala before running the trains.

“Cash to the tune of Rs5 crore has been allocated in last week’s railway budget for the conversion of nine-car trains to 12-car trains on the Harbour line. This will be enough to increase the length of platforms and build infrastructure,” a senior official said.
A senior official said there would be engineering problems on the existing elevated stations of Sandhurst Road, Cotton Green etc, but no physical problem till Wadala.

“It will take time to lengthen platforms and build the subsequent infrastructure for the entire Harbour line stretch from CST, but it is practically possible to do so between Wadala and Mankhurd stations. There seem to be no major hurdles in increasing the length of the platforms between these stations. Beyond Mankhurd, all the stations have been upgraded to 12-car ones,” a top official said.

Stations such as King’s Circle and the WR stations beyond can easily be converted into 12-car ones. The only section that would remain to be converted is the Wadala-CST section, which would require major changes as some stations are elevated.

There is an urgent need to run 12-car trains on the Harbour line, since the commuter population has grown rapidly after the formation of Navi Mumbai and the shifting of the city’s wholesale market there.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_cash-in-hand-cr-gets-cracking-on-12-car-harbour-line-locals_1665613

Navi Mumbai to get 180-km rail tracks at Rs 14,000-cr

Navi Mumbai [ Images ] is expected to get around 180 km of railway tracks in the near future with an estimated cost of Rs 14,000-crore (Rs 140-billion), according to the economic survey tabled in the State Legislature on Thursday.

The routes proposed are: CST-Panvel fast track corridor (60 km), Panvel-Jite-Thal (60.9 km), Rewas Port (10.6 km), Panvel-Karjat (27.6 Km), Panvel-Uran (26.9 km), Kharkopar-Jite (22.9 km), Ranjanpada-Seawood (13.9 km), Thal--Alibaug (5.4 km) and Thane-Bhiwandi (12.5 km).

Under the MUTP-II, the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation plans to extend the Harbour line upto Goregaon, which is expected to be completed by 2014.

Under the MUTP-III, the Harbour line will be further extended upto Borivali.

The state has 720 km long coastal line with two major ports, namely Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru [ Images ] Port Trust.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port is India's [ Images ] largest container traffic port and is ranked 24th among the leading 100 international container ports, it said.

MbPT and JNPT handled 402.17 lakh tonnes and 494.78 lakh tonnes cargo traffic respectively during 2011-12 (upto December, 2011).

The operating surplus for MbPT in 2010-11 was Rs 180.16 crore (Rs 1.8 billion) which was three per cent more than the previous year, the survey said.

The operating profit for JNPT in 2010-11 was Rs 678.18 crore (Rs 6.78 billion) which was 4.6 per cent more than the previous year, it said.

http://www.rediff.com/business/report/navi-mumbai-to-get-180-km-rail-tracks-at-rs-14000-cr/20120322.htm

Impact of Union Budget 2012 On The Mumbai Real Estate Market

The Positives

By allowing external commercial borrowings (ECBs) in the low-cost housing segment, the supply of affordable housing projects will increase in the outskirts of Mumbai in areas such as Karjat, Boisar, Nalasopara, Virar, Dombivili etc. on the heels of increased liquidity for budget home projects.
The extension of 1% interest subvention scheme on housing loans up to Rs 15 lakh wherein the cost of the house does not exceed Rs 25 lakh, for another year will also help sustain demand for affordable housing in Mumbai.
The increased allocation for highways and other infrastructure projects will help boost development of Mumbai’s outskirts and increase the supply of housing units there. This will result in price stability and affordability over the long term. The investment-linked deduction of capital expenditure in affordable housing, proposed to be raised to 150% from 100%, will also encourage more supply of low-cost housing in the city.
The reduction of the withholding tax on ECB interest from 20% to 5% will help Mumbai’s affordable housing segment by creating much-needed liquidity for budget home developers. End users will have more money available for home loans with the setting up of a credit guarantee trust fund to ensure better flow of institutional credit for housing loans.
The announcement of central assistance and Japanese participation in the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project is a big plus. Areas on Mumbai’s outskirts that lie along the corridor will see increased land values.
By reinforcing the tax pass-through status for all types of Venture Capital Fund (VCFs), there will be renewed confidence levels of real estate private equity investors to invest in cities such as Mumbai (which has seen most of the PE investments post the Global Financial crisis.)
The Negatives

The overall cost of apartments in Mumbai is likely to go up because of the hike in service tax from 10% to 12%. This will render real estate in the city even less affordable – bad news for those who were waiting until the budget before buying homes.
The requirement of deduction of tax at source at the rate of 1% on payment of consideration for purchase of an immovable property will impact the cash flows of real estate developers.
The lack of a decision on FDI in multi-brand retail will further discourage developers from constructing malls in the city. This will lead to increased rentals in existing malls which are performing well. It will also delay re-tenanting and re-positioning of existing failed malls.
The budget made no mention of re-introducing the 80 IB (10) tax benefit scheme for smaller-sized units. This would have helped developers reconfigure and offer smaller units, which is the need of the hour in Mumbai.
Nor were any new tax exemption schemes for IT/ITES companies mentioned. Such exemptions would have increased demand for the vacant IT parks all over Mumbai.
The finance ministry ignored the urgent need for an increase in the limit on tax deduction available on home loans interest from present Rs 1.5 lakh.
There was also no indication of the real estate sector being granted industry status, which would have brought down the borrowing cost for developers – thereby reducing home prices in India’s most expensive city.

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Rollback-Roy-derails-Trivedis-plans-for-city/articleshow/12386902.cms)

Rollback Roy derails Trivedi’s plans for city

MUMBAI: Mukul Roy's decisions after replacing Dinesh Trivedi as railway minister may affect several projects in Mumbai, including elevated rail corridors, roof plazas and safety.

Roy has not only rolled back the increase in suburban train fares, but also revoked his predecessor's decision to create two new posts in the railway board: member, public private partnership (PPP), and member, safety.

A railway official said, "We can understand the politics behind the fare hike reversal. But the minister should expand the railway board; a separate directorate can expedite projects proposed on the PPP model and a member, safety, can upgrade measures to help prevent commuter death and injuries."

In Mumbai, elevated corridors have been planned in the Churchgate-Virar, CST-Panvel and CST-Kalyan sections. A corridor has also been planned for the Panvel-Vasai-Virar section via Diva. An official from the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) said, "The railways do not have the resources to implement the elevated corridor project on their own. The state government's help will be sought to share the cost of infrastructure. Still, while the government can extend help on capital cost, operating costs need to be factored in once the corridors are opened. It is better to rope in the private sector to run the services profitably."

He said the project will not be scrapped, but may face problems in the absence of a dedicated directorate, which could have expedited implementation.

The sacking of Trivedi has also put a question mark on the future of architect PK Das's roof plaza concept for stations. The plan was to decongest stations by making intelligent use of the area above tracks and platforms to create acres of additional space. A railway official said, "Trivedi was impressed with the concept as it would have helped decongest suburban stations." Dadar station had been selected as a pilot. "Enthusiasts will have to start from scratch to get the new minister interested in it now," the official said.

About the need for an independent railway board member for safety, an official said, "Mumbai's tracks have claimed more than 3,600 lives in the last 10 years. A member, safety, could have brought much-needed focus to issues like the need for infrastructure maintenance and quality control."

Mumbai Mirror (http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2012032420120324021935591f4417f3a/MMRDA-asks-state-govt-to-ditch-Rly%E2%80%99s-BandraKurla-link.html)
MMRDA asks state govt to ditch Rly’s Bandra-Kurla link
MMRDA insists that WR’s Bandra-Kurla rail project be scuppered in favour of its Metro line on the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd route

For decades, traffic experts have said that it was the lack of rail connectivity between the Central and Western suburbs that made travelling in Mumbai a nightmare.

Now, the two agencies involved in the city's biggest east-west link projects are locked in a bitter battle, with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) insisting that Western Railways' Bandra-Kurla rail project be scuppered in favour of MMRDA's Metro line on the same route (Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd).

Western Railways has hit back at MMRDA's suggestion, saying the proposed Metro would never be able to handle traffic on the sector on its own.

MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar said, “We have sought deletion of the railway corridor as we feel there is no need for this with the metro coming up.”

Principal chief engineer V Srihari of Western Railways, meanwhile, refused to comment.

Correspondence accessed by Mumbai Mirror shows that the MMRDA first brought up the suggestion to ditch the Bandra-Kurla railway line - which has been in the pipeline for almost two decades - in 2010.

To make their case stronger, MMRDA argued that the cancellation of the railway project would save Mumbai from a repeat of the 2005 flood. The proposed line, they pointed out, would prevent widening of the Mithi river as recommended by the Madhav Chitale committee, which was appointed to look into cause of the floods.

Cancelling the railway line, their letter said, would save Mumbai from public disaster.

At around the same time, MMRDA decided to use 4210 sq metres of 5000-sq metre plot set aside for a railway traction substation - as well as land reserved for the two railway stations - for commercial use.

On Decemeber 21, 2011, MMRDA commissioner Rahul Asthana wrote to the Urban Development Department's principal secretary T C Benjamin asking for the railway project to be shunted.

Countering this suggestion, Western Railways' principal chief engineer V Srihari wrote a letter to MMRDA and said the Bandra-Kurla rail link was suggested by RITES and validated W S Atkins International in their report nearly two decades ago. He wrote that in peak hours, 36000 passengers would use this link easing the pressure on the Bandra-Dadar and Kurla-Dadar sections of Western and Central Railways, apart from providing increased and better transport efficiency.

Srihari's letter stated that the proposed Metro link would never be able to cater to that volume of peak-hour traffic, adding that it could only act “complementary to the railway link”.

Besides, Srihari pointed out, commuters would be inconvenienced by the need to shift from suburban railway stations to the metro stations and vice-versa.

The MMRDA, however, has taken a firm stand and asked the state government to do away with the railway project.

Activist Anil Galgali feels MMRDA's stand is unfair. “To earn a few crores of rupees from the sale land meant for the railway stations and traction substation, the MMRDA will inconvenience lakhs of Mumbaikars,” he said.

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Don-t-scrap-rail-link-plan-between-Bandra-and-Kurla/Article1-830064.aspx)

‘Don’t scrap rail link plan between Bandra and Kurla’

The Western Railways (WR) is keen to push through a suburban railway line connecting Bandra and Kurla through the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The complex is Mumbai’s second-largest business hub after Nariman Point.

If this rail link is constructed, it will benefit approximately 36,000 commuters and ease pressure on the existing Bandra-Dadar and Kurla-Dadar routes, WR told the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in a letter.

This information was obtained through a Right to Information application filed by a city-based activist. WR has informed MMRDA that the link needs to be constructed, if not immediately then definitely in the future.

This communication was made in response to the MMRDA’s plans to scrap the rail link plan altogether.

In 2011, MMRDA issued a notification for deletion of the alignment of the proposed Bandra-Kurla rail link, citing that the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhrud metro link had already been planned to provide east-west connectivity.

In reply, WR addressed a letter to MMRDA on June 16, 2011 in which it stated that the metro did not have the capacity to accommodate 36,000 commuters, At best, it can act complimentary to railway service, says the letter accessed by Anil Galgali, an RTI activist, a copy of which is available with HT.

“The rail link is necessary considering the traffic it can ease on the Bandra-Dadar and Kurla-Dadar sections,” said CNK David, Public Relations Officer, WR.

The Bandra-Kurla rail link was first suggested in the early ’90s or late ’80s by Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd (RITES). Its need was further validated by M/s WS Atkins International in its report released in 1997.

MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawatkar said: “We have received suggestions and objections on the project. A detailed report will be submitted to the state, which will decide whether the link is required or not.”

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Sanpada station with a theatre in it

http://i43.tinypic.com/316ku9v.jpg

Sanpada station layout

http://i40.tinypic.com/fnsdjq.jpg

CST

ccBeefyBrian

http://i39.tinypic.com/671lhi.jpg

CST

ccBeefyBrian

http://i39.tinypic.com/671lhi.jpg

Seems to have been taken during SC Mumbai Marathon! Lot of Young crowd wearing the Dream Run Race gear.

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/epaper/index.htm

http://epaper2.mid-day.com/Drive/mumbai/31032012/epaperimages%5C31032012%5C31032012-MD-MN-1%5C7173723.jpg

http://epaper2.mid-day.com/Drive/mumbai/31032012/epaperimages%5C31032012%5C31032012-MD-MN-14%5C7439457.jpg

Source: http://www.mid-day.com/epaper/index.htm

http://epaper2.mid-day.com/Drive/mumbai/31032012/epaperimages%5C31032012%5C31032012-MD-MN-4%5C7266426.jpg

I was viewing the city through Google Earth and I noticed that both Churchgate and Bombay Central have got some new blue roofing?

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/7457/station1t.jpg

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/267/station2j.jpg

Source: Google Earth

That was long time ago. Churchgate station has blowers installed on the roof to blow the hot air outside

Cool thanks. Any idea of what the roofing is made of?

It is similar to industrial roofing like thishttp://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/215715273/Industrial_G_I_colour_coated_roofing_sheets.jpg

Thanks. After doing some research, seems like they could be UPVC (http://www.sunarch.co.in/upvc-roofing-sheets.htm) roofing sheets. The only disadvantage it seems is it has lower resistance to absorb noise from raining or hail.

Thanks. After doing some research, seems like they could be UPVC (http://www.sunarch.co.in/upvc-roofing-sheets.htm) or simply Vinyl roofing sheets. The only disadvantage it seems is it has lower resistance to absorb noise from raining or hail.

Yea it makes a lot of noise when it rains but its better than those asbestos sheets which used to make the platform area into heatin chamber

Good news for Western Railway’s 34 lakh commuters

Finally, the missing links are in place. The Western Railway has taken up a project that will offer its 34 lakh commuters direct connectivity from stations such as Mumbai Central, Bandra and Borivli to Konkan Railway, Pune and South India.

Lakhs of commuters along the WR who are forced to go all the way to Dadar, CST or Panvel will soon be able to catch trains from three more stations once the ambitious project is complete.At present, there is no direct access from WR line to Konkan Railway, south India or the Pune line. Trains go up to Vasai and reverse from there to continue the journey. As of Friday, only holiday specials and limited trains were taken by this route.

A top official said that the project was under “active consideration” and that a small two-km stretch between the WR’s mainline and the Vasai-Diva line would solve the problem.

“Approximately, a chord line between Naigaum and Juchandra stations is all that’ll be required to make this happen,” he said. This will enable WR to run regular trains to south India and Marathwada regions. Sources said there will be no problem in acquiring land or in making any realignments to complete this project fast.

“Moreover, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan too is keen to get this done so that it helps lakhs of Konkan Railway commuters can get trains from WR,” he added.

“This is a project that we had been fighting for for so long... It is finally going to come to life. To catch any Konkan Railway train or a train to Pune, passengers from Virar, Vasai, Borivli and Bandra have to come down to Dadar or Mumbai CST,” Jagdish B Rane, a commuter activist, who had chalked out an initial survey on this plan, said.

source: DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_good-news-for-western-railways-34-lakh-commuters_1672531)

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Central-Railway-may-run-15-car-rakes-by-October/articleshow/12605009.cms)

Central Railway may run 15-car rakes by October

MUMBAI: Central Railway is working on plans to run 15-car services on main line between CST and Kalyan by October. It has also decided to take measures to phase out Coupon Validating Machines (CVMs) and instead promote the use of smart-card operated Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM).

"The enabling works like extension of platform, extending the roof above the platforms, overhead equipment-related works and shifting of signals will have to be carried out before running these services. We are exploring the possibility of getting this work done through MRVC (Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation)," Central Railway chief public relations officer V A Malegaonkar said.

The move is aimed at accommodating 33 per cent more commuters compared with a 12-car rake and 66 per cent more than a 9-car service. The plan is to introduce 10 services on a trial basis by October, provided the works are completed, he said.

On March 22, TOI had reported that Central Railway commuters will have to wait for at least six months for 15-car rakes due to operational and technical problems.

Western Railway introduced 15-car rakes on its suburban section in 2009. "CR has also begun efforts to phase out CVMs and instead take steps to install more ATVMs and popularize its usage," Malegaonkar said.

Railway board had issued directives to phase out CVMs by March. However, it extended the deadline to March next year after railway authorities from Mumbai sought more time as CVMs are popular among the commuters.

"Instructions have been issued to ensure proper working of ATVMs and also see that it does not run out of paper. Instructions on usage of ATVMs will also be put up so that people can easily operate these machines," Malegaonkar said.

There are around 428 booking windows across the suburban Central Railway network. Around 10 lakh tickets are sold per day on this network, of which 5.7 lakh are sold through the unreserved ticketing system, 2.9 lakh through CVMs and 1.1 lakh through ATVMs.

There are already 150 ATVM machines on this network and 75 were installed recently. "We are planning to procure 350 more ATVMs," Malegaonkar said.

TOI (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-10/mumbai/31318000_1_toy-train-rail-roko-train-services)
Toy train shutdown sparks protest


MUMBAI: Angry villagers staged a rail roko and shut down shops at Matheran railway station on Monday afternoon for over three hours to protest against Central Railway (CR)'s apathy towards toy trains.

Tourism in the hill station has taken a hit after some of toy train services to Matheran were cancelled last month.

Around 1pm, villagers started protesting on the railway tracks and demanded a solution to technical troubles in toy train engines.

The protest was called off around 4.30pm after the Central Railway DRM assured Ajay Sawant, president of Matheran Municipal Council, on phone, that he will call a high-level meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue at his office in Mumbai. Services resumed after the assurance.

Sawant said, "The livelihood of nearly 10,000 locals depends on tourism. We have held several meetings with CR officials. The DRM also visited the station but no action was taken. This led to anger among locals and we decided to stage a rail roko."

"The tourist season has started but the number of visitors has reduced this year due to affected train services," Sawant added.

Ramesh Patil, a villager who participated in the protest, said it has been over a month since many toy train services to Matheran were cancelled. This, he said, is causing inconvenience to tourists in reaching the hill station.

VA Malegaonkar, chief public relations officer, said, "There were six locomotives for this stretch. Of this, one has been sent for period over-hauling before its scheduled date. Of the remaining five, two developed a snag due to which one service had to be cancelled. The services are expected to run normally from Tuesday."

CR operates 10 services on weekends and eight on weekdays. Approximately 2,000 people travel by these toy trains every day.

Matheran has been declared as an eco-sensitive region by the Union ministry of environment and forests. It is one of the few places in the world where vehicles are not allowed. Tourists can take a taxi or bus to the hill station but it costs more and people prefer the train, which takes them to the entrance of Matheran. From here, it is a 3-km walk to the main market area of the hill station.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Special-team-to-look-into-toy-train-woes/articleshow/12616223.cms
Special team to look into toy train woes

MUMBAI: Following assurances from Central Railway, a delegation from Matheran that met CR officials decided to adopt a wait-and-watch approach on the toy train service.

The railway authorities told the delegation that the train will run as per schedule. A special maintenance team will be sent for this purpose.

On Monday, villagers and political party leaders staged a rail roko and shut down shops in Matheran to protest against CR's alleged apathy towards toy trains, which was affecting their business.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-06/mumbai/31299998_1_trans-harbour-network-trans-harbour-network-harbour-line
Take it easy, use a travelator

MUMBAI: Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has offered to build a travelator-a moving walkway--between a proposed station at Kopri and Thane for the convenience of rail commuters, especially those who want to use the trans-harbour network.

The travelator, a slow-speed conveyor belt, will help passengers go from the proposed station to Thane. Design specifications, load and capacity features for the travelator are yet to be worked out as the project is in a conceptual stage.
A Central Railway official said, "The building of a new station at Kopri does not make much sense if there is no connectivity to the trans-harbour network. We cannot extend the trans-harbour network to the proposed station, as it will entail engineering challenges, besides not being operationally practical."

TMC has offered to procure and install the one-km travelator.

Nearly 208 services operate between Thane and Navi Mumbai; of these 128 are 12-car services and the remaining 9-car.

CR plans to convert all the remaining 80 9-car services into 12-car and also increase services in the long run.

A CR official said, "The number of passengers has shown a steady increase in Thane, especially since 2004-2005, when CR introduced services on the trans-harbour network. A Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) study indicates that traffic on the trans-harbour route has shown an increase of 10% per year."

Thane had the highest earnings through the sale of suburban tickets on Central Railway in 2010-11. It registered a 7.01% growth in ticket-related earnings in 2010-11, compared to the previous year. In 2010-11, the station earned Rs 48.92 crore from ticket sales, as against Rs 45.72 crore in 2009-10.

Many people had to travel to from Thane and beyond to Navi Mumbai ahd to get down at Kurla to switching trains from Main Line to Harbour line. After the trans harbour network become operational, a large proportion of commuter traffic to New Mumbai has been diverted by Thane, bypassing Kurla.

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/First-ever-commuters-survey-over-new-route/articleshow/12630128.cms)
First ever commuters’ survey over new route

MUMBAI: Authorities have decided to conduct a 'willingness to pay' survey for the CST-Panvel high speed corridor that aims to provide connectivity from south Mumbai to the proposed Navi Mumbai international airport.

The survey, which will cover over 5,000 commuters, will be the first of its kind in the city. Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has put the project on the fast track by asking the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) to submit an interim report on technical feasibility by June. PricewaterhouseCoopers will study the financial aspects and submit its report within three months. "Train fares for the corridor will not be linked to suburban railway tickets decided by Indian Railways," an MRVC official said. "The project requires huge investment for which an innovative model of funding is envisaged. It is better to gauge whether commuters may be willing to pay a certain fare for the service before plans are set rolling."

MRVC is likely to rope in Cidco for sharing the project's cost. However, the agency is not keen to include the route in the operations run by either CR or WR as it aims to have financial and operational independence to make the project a long-term success. "Only those commuters who travel on the existing suburban corridor connecting the two destinations will be surveyed. Fares to be quoted in the survey have not yet been decided, but they will be reasonable," an official said.

MRVC is keen to develop the project on a public private partnership model by floating a special purpose vehicle. Under this prototype, the private player will undertake operations like running of services and collection of fare. However, the management control will remain with the MRVC.

TOI (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-15/mumbai/31345194_1_platform-number-12-car-rakes-15-car-rakes)
15-car rakes: Central Railway invites bids for platform extension

MUMBAI: Central Railway (CR) has accelerated the process of introducing 15-car services on its CST-Kalyan line by inviting tenders to extend the length of platforms to facilitate such trains to stop there.

CR plans to introduce 10 15-car services between CST and Kalyan by October 2012. A senior CR official said, "Interested parties can submit their bids by May 16. The total cost of the work is estimated at Rs 3.75 crore."

Railway officials expect to finish the scrutiny and allotment work by June-end. "We will have four months to complete extending the platforms. This time-frame is enough to put the infrastructure in place before the deadline."

All 785 Main line suburban services have been running on 12-car rakes since November 2011. Fifteen-car trains will increase the carrying capacity of trains-33 % more commuters as compared to the capacity of 12-car services and 66% more in comparison to nine-car services.

The 15-car services may originate from and terminate at CST, Kurla, Dadar, Thane and Kalyan. From CST, they are likely to be operated from platform number 7, which is long enough to accommodate 15-car rakes.

The official said: "The time-table for these services will be planned in such a manner that it will provide maximum runs during the evening and morning peak hours."

Apart from extending the platforms, CR will also have to undertake works such as extending roofs above the extended platforms, OHE-related jobs and shifting signals. CR is in the process of sending a communication to Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation to fund the project.

Platforms at Byculla, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Mulund and Dombivli stations will have to extended, said officials.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mumbai-rail-services-to-be-affected-for-next-three-days-199279
Mumbai rail services to be affected for next three days

Mumbai: It wasn't a regular Wednesday for at least 40 lakh commuters of the suburban Central Railways in Mumbai. A fire, late Tuesday night at the Kurla and Vidyavihar signalling cabins damaged some equipment sending the services for a toss through the entire day. The damage to equipment meant that trains had to be piloted manually instead of automatic, causing every train to run at least an hour behind schedule.

The damage means the next couple of days could also see a drop in the number of trains plying. The Public Relations Officer of the Central Railways confirmed that only 70 percent of trains would run over the next three days.

The impact of this fire was witnessed everywhere. Lakhs of commuters waited for hours either on platforms or inside trains to reach their destinations. The main arterial roads of the city namely the LBS Marg and Eastern Express Highway witnessed serpentine traffic jams. Many outstation trains were also affected through the day.

The city bus service BEST ran more buses through the day but with no information on when services would be restored, several commuters continued using the trains. It is estimated that they Central Railways has incurred a loss of over Rs. one crore.

The Central Railways is the busiest of the three critical local rail lines that connect the island city to its suburbs. It connects people from far flung suburbs of central Mumbai like Kalyan, Dombivali, Thane to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

Hope this serves as a Wake-Up Call for CR. Their Equipments have been failing far too often over the past 6-8 months. Almost every other day, i'm catching the train about 10-15 minutes late. And the sad part, at the end of the day, the delays have a cascading effect of upto 30 minutes.

Overcrowded Mumbai trains: 2 dead, 8 injured :


Reports coming in of several people falling off overcrowded local trains in Mumbai today. Two people died in Mulund after they hit a signal pole, while five others were injured in Ghatkopar and three in Vikhroli.

http://news.rediff.com/commentary/2012/apr/19/liveupdates.htm

They knew that services are less today. Why could'nt they deploy force and prevent the trains from getting overfilled.

(For those who do not know -Trains are running 70% of services since yesterday). So overcrowded trains, roads . It isn't called lifeline for nothing.

Its been like hell for central railway travellers since yesterday....glad WR doesnt often have such issues ....

Commuter speak: The nightmare called Mumbai locals

http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-commuter-speak-the-nightmare-called-mumbai-locals/20120419.htm

Mumbai Mirror (http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2012042420120424205555140cc05ca54/How-much-will-you-pay-for-an-AC-ride-from-CST-to-Panvel.html)
How much will you pay for an AC ride from CST to Panvel?

Will you be ready to pay more than thrice the current ticket rate if Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) ferries you from Panvel to CST in 40 minutes, that too in an air-conditioned coach?

MRVC plans to hit the platforms to ask commuters how much they are willing to pay for greater comfort. Currently, the CST-Panvel stretch costs Rs 15 for a second class ticket and the travel time is nearly 80 minutes with 26 halts.

MRVC plans to cut the halts to 10, bringing the travel time down to 40 minutes. However, it is looking at a charge of Re 1 per kilometre, which will bring the CST-Panvel ticket rate to Rs 50.

“We will carry out a detailed survey that will target regular rail commuters who will have to spend five minutes speaking to enumerators who will ask them specific questions related to factors such as what would prompt them to travel by a better transport system and how much would they be willing to pay if their travel time was cut by 15 minutes,” said an MRVC official adding that this was valid only for this corridor.

The survey would also take note of socio-economic profiles to understand which cross-section of passengers would opt for the new rates and also take into other costs such as parking charges for personal vehicles and auto/cab fare.

The official added that the survey would help them gauge an idea of what kind of fare structure can be set for the CST-Panvel fast corridor that will also connect the New Mumbai Airport being planned. In fact, MRVC is so keen that it has asked Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) to submit a report on technical feasibility by June 2012.

The corridor should be ready in 2017 and the peak-hour passenger load for the time has been pegged at around 20,000.

Mumbai Mirror (http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2012042420120424205555140cc05ca54/How-much-will-you-pay-for-an-AC-ride-from-CST-to-Panvel.html)
How much will you pay for an AC ride from CST to Panvel?

Will you be ready to pay more than thrice the current ticket rate if Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) ferries you from Panvel to CST in 40 minutes, that too in an air-conditioned coach?

...

this argument is specious. with the ac/dc conversion the railways' energy has come down substantially. they should pass those savings onto the consumer as a 'better' product. also the differential rates between a meru/cool cab vs the classic is not the same 300% as quoted in the article. the cab is less efficient by definition and also provides door to door service. in that regard the train service should be priced accordingly.

otoh, the subsidized rates currently being charged by the railways bring more opacity to the situation, a subsidy literally paid for in the blood of the 10 people dying everyday.

that coupled with the density of the people running the show make for a lethal combination.

/rant

Mumbai Mirror (http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2012042420120424205555140cc05ca54/How-much-will-you-pay-for-an-AC-ride-from-CST-to-Panvel.html)
How much will you pay for an AC ride from CST to Panvel?

Will you be ready to pay more than thrice the current ticket rate if Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) ferries you from Panvel to CST in 40 minutes, that too in an air-conditioned coach?

MRVC plans to hit the platforms to ask commuters how much they are willing to pay for greater comfort. Currently, the CST-Panvel stretch costs Rs 15 for a second class ticket and the travel time is nearly 80 minutes with 26 halts.

MRVC plans to cut the halts to 10, bringing the travel time down to 40 minutes. However, it is looking at a charge of Re 1 per kilometre, which will bring the CST-Panvel ticket rate to Rs 50.

“We will carry out a detailed survey that will target regular rail commuters who will have to spend five minutes speaking to enumerators who will ask them specific questions related to factors such as what would prompt them to travel by a better transport system and how much would they be willing to pay if their travel time was cut by 15 minutes,” said an MRVC official adding that this was valid only for this corridor.

The survey would also take note of socio-economic profiles to understand which cross-section of passengers would opt for the new rates and also take into other costs such as parking charges for personal vehicles and auto/cab fare.

The official added that the survey would help them gauge an idea of what kind of fare structure can be set for the CST-Panvel fast corridor that will also connect the New Mumbai Airport being planned. In fact, MRVC is so keen that it has asked Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) to submit a report on technical feasibility by June 2012.

The corridor should be ready in 2017 and the peak-hour passenger load for the time has been pegged at around 20,000.

Frankly the expected AC and current first class charges are far more bloated on Indian Railways. Considering that the frequency of the service is going to be one every few minutes (5-10 min) and the route is well patronized the passengers should be able to travel for less than Rs 50. The Mumbai metro fares for an equivalent travel should be less than Rs 50.

100 more services by 2015 as Central Railway okays terminus in Parel.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/100-more-services-by-2015-as-Central-Railway-okays-terminus-in-Parel/articleshow/12887110.cms

Commuters can expect faster trains and more services on the main line by 2015 as the Central Railway (CR) authorities have approved the Parel terminus project, which will help decongest Dadar station. The authorities plan to operate at least 100 more services from Parel on the project's completion.

It will cost Rs 35-40 crore to build the terminus building and elevated booking deck, while laying of additional tracks between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Kurla could cost Rs 800-900 crore, which excludes cost of rehabilitation.

The fifth and sixth corridor exists between Kurla-Thane and Diva-Kalyan, and the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has begun laying the fifth and sixth tracks between Thane and Diva. However, work to take these lines from Kurla to CST is yet to begin. Once executed, express and goods train traffic will have an exclusive corridor.

CR general manager Subodh Jain told TOI that they had approved the Parel project and final drawings and estimates were being prepared.

The estimates and drawings will be submitted to MRVC, which is keen that the fifth and sixth lines should be up to Parel in Phase I.

The project will be funded by MRVC under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-II).

The official said they will require land, about 11 metres wide, adjacent to the existing tracks to lay the fifth and sixth tracks. A senior railway official said, "Bringing the fifth and sixth corridor up to CST may remain a dream as there are major challenges. We will have to acquire prime land, which is time-consuming and expensive. It is logical to divide the work in phases and bring the lines up to Parel in phase I, as the challenges are not enormous."

CR requires around 8,000 sq m of land between Sion-Matunga on the west side to lay the tracks. The official said, "The rehabilitation of project-affected persons may not pose a major problem as the state government has extended the cut-off date for eligible slums to 2000. Moreover, it is small patch, compared to Thane and Kurla, which was dotted by slums."

A senior CR official said, "Work on the project should get completed by 2015. We hope to finish the tendering work for the project during the monsoons so that work on the ground can begin by December 2012."

"The opening up of a path due to segregation of mail/express and suburban trains will help us run 100 services from Parel," an official said.

DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-railways-set-to-split-from-national-body_1682417)
Mumbai railways set to split from national body

The Indian Railways has taken the first step to segregate Mumbai railways from the national body. It has asked expert consultants to look into the future ownership pattern and the Maharashtra government and the Indian Railways sharing the responsibility of Mumbai’s suburban railway network. The project for the first time also aims at clearing the differences over defining a suburban railway network. The MMRDA and Indian Railways concepts will be studied and summarised to suggest necessary changes.

The project, undertaken by the city’s rail think tank, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, with financial help from the World Bank, also calls for identification of a possible institutional arrangement and organisational structure of the railway, its legal status, operational responsibility and ownership and maintenance of assets. The experts will also have to look at a 20-year strategic planning for system expansion, capital investment and a capacity-building programme.

The project will also look at service planning and fares besides operating subsidies — anticipating who will have a key role to play in business planning and the institutional development of the suburban railway system.

Former railway minister Mamata Banerjee in her Vision 2020 plan had mooted a proposal to segregate Mumbai suburban railways from the national body. At a recent seminar in Mumbai, her successor Dinesh Trivedi also said that the local government knows best the needs of its public and that the national railways has no business in running local lines.

Commuter activists welcomed the decision. “Once separated from the national body, Mumbai railways can take its own customised real-time decisions that will go down well with its seven million commuters. The money earned here can be used exclusively for it,’’ said Subhash Gupta, member of the National Railway Users Consultative Committee.

excellent news.......... :)

What a bloody good relief at least reading this news ! Feels so good !!!!


DNA (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-railways-set-to-split-from-national-body_1682417)
Mumbai railways set to split from national body

T .

+1 . The best thing that can happen to Mumbai after BKC.

But these sarkari studies!! It takes long time. And hope it doesnt go to dustbin after few years like most of the other studies.

^^ I also think it will take long time. Where will they get revenue from when fare is so low? Currently mumbai railway running under subsidy, railway suffering 2k crore loss every year due to mumbai, kolkata and chennai together :ohno:

Not really true. The real estate lease rentals in MUmbai suburban stations are captured in IRCTC and not Indian railways. When you combine the two, Mumbai suburban will have enough money to run its trains. It is teh same case in Delhi Metro too. Mumbai Suburban system is also sitting on a goldmine - Real estate in many places which can fetch astronmical rates.

And consumers are ready for fare hike; it is just the dirty politics at central level.

So we have MMRC formation in line and Mumbai railways to be separated from IR. That's good.

http://i49.tinypic.com/2difv9e.jpg

805 Mumbai train commuters dead in 3 months

A national spotlight isn’t enough to reverse a trend. Case in point: deaths on the Mumbai suburban railway. The latest data released by the city’s railway police commissionerate reveal that 805 commuters died and 867 others were injured in the first three months this year.

“It is a shame. Despite much noise over them, deaths on tracks show no signs of a decline. This is an emergency situation and the authorities — both local and national — need to look into this urgently. We cannot accept so many deaths taking place during travel,” said Madhu Kotian, member, Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee, the official railway-passenger grievances body.

Data collated from January to March this year show that, 512 commuters died and 518 others were injured on the Central Railway (CR) line, and 293 died and 349 were injured on the Western Railway line. Most of those who died were trespassers crossing tracks, closely followed by those who fell off trains. Last year, 3,458 commuters died and 4,164 were injured in train accidents in the city.

A Right to Information query filed earlier this year had revealed that nearly 40,000 commuters had died and an equal number were injured over the last decade.

A transport upgrade project to improve and increase the number of trains in the city was recently launched to deal with overcrowding. Recent figures show that crowds in locals have thinned down — but just marginally.

Railway officials said they are doing everything possible to cut down death rates — from increasing the height of platforms to putting up fences. Taking cognisance of the large number of deaths caused by trespassing, the CR has promised a network of skywalks to criss-cross rail lines to provide a permanent solution to the issue.

After activist Samir Zaveri, who lost his legs in a train accident near Borivli about two decades ago, approached the court in 2008 demanding better medical facilities at stations, the railways were forced to provide ambulances outside stations and to upgrade medical facilities there. The railways have also set up a first-aid room at Dadar.



http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_805-mumbai-train-commuters-dead-in-3-months_1686325

They should have built lot of skywalks for crossing rail lines already as people living on slums on either side of tracks have no option but to cross the tracks rather than walking to nearest station and then cross the tracks.

^^

Yes. The thing is that even after such high number of deaths every year, visual proof of people crossing tracks, why isn't this getting an urgent attention of basically fortifying the railway network in the city. I know this sounds impossible, but tracks between Elphinstone Road and a few stations in the south bombay have walls around it since the railway colonies are adjacent to it. Technically it would look ridiculous to fortify the railway network, but this leaves us no choice.

Skywalk or no skywalk, people are going to cross tracks unless they are prohibited from doing so. FOBs are available, but they won't use it.

FOB's are there but still many are needed even on the areas that are far from station.

^^

Yes. The thing is that even after such high number of deaths every year, visual proof of people crossing tracks, why isn't this getting an urgent attention of basically fortifying the railway network in the city. I know this sounds impossible, but tracks between Elphinstone Road and a few stations in the south bombay have walls around it since the railway colonies are adjacent to it. Technically it would look ridiculous to fortify the railway network, but this leaves us no choice.

Skywalk or no skywalk, people are going to cross tracks unless they are prohibited from doing so. FOBs are available, but they won't use it.

FOB's are there but still many are needed even on the areas that are far from station.

True, If you go to even major stations like Thane, Mulund, Kurla etc, there is an alost stampede like situation everyday. That is a NORMAL situation. It seems like a perpetual about-to-happen disaster like situation. Its inhuman in the mildest terms.

instead of skywalk they should fence between tracks first.. fence and skywalk both will force them to use skywalk. nobody will jump 2 fences to cross, women and elderly will be first to stop crossing. fence is priority over skywalks.

instead of skywalk they should fence between tracks first.. fence and skywalk both will force them to use skywalk. nobody will jump 2 fences to cross, women and elderly will be first to stop crossing. fence is priority over skywalks.

+1

Yeh, I noticed that at grant road station, previously many people use to cross the tracks, but since they have put fencing between the tracks, hardly any one think of crossing railway line.

But this will be an isuue, where there are open places and slums along the railway track. As its tempting to cross tracks and save time.

I know this would be harsh but, bordering the tracks with electrified wires for some time, would help forcing people to stop crossing in these areas.

Railways have build walls along the border of raiway tracks, but people have broken them as usual to make their way to save efforts and time.

^^ Do you have electric fences around your house? :bash:

I guess railway tracks is not some ones house.

+1

Yeh, I noticed that at grant road station, previously many people use to cross the tracks, but since they have put fencing between the tracks, hardly any one think of crossing railway line.

But this will be an isuue, where there are open places and slums along the railway track. As its tempting to cross tracks and save time.

I know this would be harsh but, bordering the tracks with electrified wires for some time, would help forcing people to stop crossing in these areas.

Railways have build walls along the border of raiway tracks, but people have broken them as usual to make their way to save efforts and time.

They should fence tracks throughout the tracks in city limits, not just stations. Single fence between tracks is also enough. Like they do in road medians to prevent jaywalking.

Maintaining of such fence can be planned out once they first set up these fences. Even if people break the fence in some places, situation will still be better than open ground what is there today :cheers:

They should fence tracks throughout the tracks in city limits, not just stations. Single fence between tracks is also enough. Like they do in road medians to prevent jaywalking.

Maintaining of such fence can be planned out once they first set up these fences. Even if people break the fence in some places, situation will still be better than open ground what is there today :cheers:

Fensing between the tracks may cause more accidents as gap between 2 trains is not that much the fense at max can only be little higher than platform level. Higher fense at the sides along with skywalk will work

Fensing between the tracks may cause more accidents as gap between 2 trains is not that much the fense at max can only be little higher than platform level. Higher fense at the sides along with skywalk will work

+1

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Chhattrapati-Shivaji-Terminus-revamp-plan-put-on-fast-track/articleshow/13102875.cms)
Chhattrapati Shivaji Terminus revamp plan put on fast track

MUMBAI: The Central Railway will appoint a financial consultant to prepare the bid document for the makeover of the iconic Chhattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) into a world-class station.

The process has been initiated at the behest of the Railway board, whose officials are confident that the proposal to rationalize the heritage buffer zone from the existing 90 hectares to 70 hectares will sail through at the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural organization (Unesco), which granted the World Heritage tag to CST in 2004.

A senior CR official said, "It means that an in-principle approval for the project from the railway board even though a formal decision by the Unesco will be taken in the June/July. The project can only become viable if the buffer zone is rationalized as it will free up space for commercial exploitation of property around CST."

It will take about six months to appoint the financial consultant. Another six months will be taken by the consultant to prepare the bid document on the basis of a masterplan prepared by Arep Ville, a French consultancy firm, and Egis India and Egis Rail.

The next step in the project is to invite Request for Qualification and Request for Proposal, respectively, after which an agreement will be signed with the successful bidder.

CR aims to improve the circulation area, enhance facility for commuters, remodel yard to improve speed, create exclusive area for pedestrians by carrying out the CST makeover through the public-private partnership model.

Estimated to cost Rs 1,800 crore, the masterplan for the project envisages a multi-storey luxury hotel, commercial buildings, etc at Carnac Bunder for commercial exploitation.

The official said that under the redevelopment plan, a pedestrian subway is proposed to be built below the platforms after dismantling the existing foot-overbridge. It also plans to eliminate all additions to the existing heritage building.

An additional floor on the annexe building, extended toilet and TA building will also be demolished. A garden will also come up after demolishing all structures behind the main building.

Centre puts elevated rail plan on fast track
Manthan K Mehta TNN

Mumbai: The railway ministry has fast-tracked the Churchgate-Virar elevated high-speed corridor plan, work on which is expected to begin by December 2013.
Officials have begun the process to appoint legal and financial consultants and finalize the revenue model for the mega project.
The project will be implemented through a public-private partnership model by a private entity. “Financial consultants will be appointed in the next three to four months. It will take another four months for them to prepare bid documents, examine the project’s financial viability, recommend a revenue model and help the railways in the bidding process,” a senior railwayofficialsaid. “The railway ministry, the state government andthePrimeMinister’s office are keen to implement the project asearly as possible. Several meetings have been held in the past few days to finalize the plan’s broad contours,” an official added.
The financial and legal consultants will be able to finalize the bid document within six months.Thedeadlinefor the project is 2019, said officials. The railways and the state government are in the process of finalizing the state support agreement (SSA).
“Thisisbeing doneto avoid any controversy at the execution stage. The SSA will deal with issues like relief and rehabilitation of project-affected people, shifting of utilities and floor space index for commercialexploitation of landto fund the project,” a railway official said.
The railway ministry conducted a technical feasibility study for introduction of elevated air-conditioned metro services between Churchgate and Virar stations. The study found the project technically feasible and its indicative project cost was Rs 20,000 crore.

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/40-new-services-after-monsoon-on-central-railway/Article1-855323.aspx)
40 new services after monsoon on central railway

Commuting on the central railway is likely to get easier and faster, with authorities planning to introduce 40 additional services along the route. The administration is also likely to meet its target of completing the conversion from direct current to alternating current along the route by


December 2012. The conversion from 1,500 volts DC to 25 kv alternate current will enable trains to run faster, (up to 100 kmph from current 80 kmph), which means there will be more services. It will also help the railways reduce transmission losses, reducing energy consumption by 35%.

Post monsoons, the railway authorities will introduce 24 additional services on the main line from Thane to suburbs like Kalyan, Karjat and Kasara. There will be six new services on harbour from CST to Panvel and 10 more services on the transharbour line from Thane-Vashi and Thane-Nerul-Panvel.

“The services will be run during both peak and non peak hours,” said Subodh Jain, general manager, CR.

CR has speeded up the retrofitting of trains finish the AC-DC conversion work.

“We are expecting some retrofitted rakes from western railway also,” said an official from central railway, on condition of anonymity.

One hurdle in completing this project by December has been the construction of a substation being carried out by Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) at Sion. MRVC had communicated that this would not be readied till March end.

CR is working on an alternative provision for sticking to their target of DC-AC conversion by December 2012. “We have decided to take feed from Wadala substation till then,” he added.

Seats on new local trains not comfortable: Survey
Manthan K Mehta, TNN (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-06/mumbai/31597103_1_local-trains-p-c-sehgal-leg-space) May 6, 2012, 01.41AM IST

MUMBAI: Uncomfortable seats with little leg space seems to top the complaint list of commuters on Mumbai's suburban railway network.

A survey conducted by the Integral Coach Factory in March indicates that daily passengers of local trains, who spend a considerable amount of time jostling inside packed coaches, are mighty unsatisfied with the seating arrangements in the new white-and-purple rakes introduced a few years ago.

A questionnaire was sent to 473 commuters who were asked about their opinion on 33 topics including seat designs, ventilation, illumination, hand-grips and requirement of charging points. The answers showed that the biggest grudge was the seating arrangement, with commuters of both first and second classes demanding more comfortable facilities. Nearly 27% of those surveyed are dissatisfaction with the design, including the cushion seats in first classes, and 42% want more space than the 18-inch gap between two opposite seats. A considerable number of passengers, 30%, want headrests and points to charge mobiles and laptops.

Shailesh Goyal of Zonal Rail Users Consultative Committee said, "Seats in the first class should have designs like that of chair cars, which is similar to that on Airport Express Metro in Delhi." Agreeing with him, a Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation official said, "Travelling experience in second class improved more than that on first classes. In first-class coaches, backrests are not comfortable. We are considering fitting headrests."

Justifying the narrowed-down leg space, P C Sehgal, former MD of MRVC, said, "Compartments in the old trains had more leg space, but people felt that in the gap, more people try to squeeze in and stand, blocking the way and chocking ventilation. So, we reduced it."

The MRVC claimed most people were happy with the changes incorporated in new rakes under . MRVC MD Rakesh Saksena said, "No changes can be made in the existing rakes. The survey had 33 questions and commuter satisfaction is high in most areas. ICF can introduce new features or make modifications in rakes to be delivered later."

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-12/mumbai/31679573_1_dormitory-passengers-bed
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to get 100-bed AC dormitory

MUMBAI: CST will soon get a 100-bed air-conditioned dormitory.

"Nearly 50% of the beds will be reserved for women passengers," said a Central Railway (CR) official.

"The dormitory will be boon for long distance and suburban passengers. For example, if a person has missed his last train, the passengers can book a dormitory to avoid fleecing by cabbies, who charge exorbitant fare during the night," he added.

CR has already opened similar facilities with locker facilities at Thane and Kalyan stations.
The dormitory will also benefit long-distance passengers, who visit the city for a short period.

HT
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Parel-station-will-soon-become-a-terminus/Article1-854518.aspx)Parel station will soon become a terminus

With Parel emerging as new commercial hub, the Central Railway has decided to develop its railway station as a mini-terminus for suburban trains. Top sources in the CR said that the work on the Parel terminus is likely to start from December 2012, and is expected to be complete within two years.

CR will construct a new platform from where local trains will originate for eastern suburbs. Accounting for a rise in the number of commuters at the station, the CR has proposed to build a deck above the existing station for commuters to exit in different directions. This will make it easier for commuters to switch to the Western line or go to western parts of Parel.

The new terminus will help the railways increase the number of suburban services. “After the construction of a new platform, some services will start and terminate at Parel. This will help passengers who currently take CST trains, which get crowded at the starting point itself,” said a senior CR official.

The CR is also constructing a deck adjacent to the existing road-overbridge for easy entry and exit from the platforms to the station. At the same time, a provision will be made for buses and taxis to halt on the deck.

The additional platform will be constructed on the existing land at Parel station. The construction of Parel terminus is part of the Kurla-CST fifth-sixth-line corridor extension project and is estimated cost Rs. 800- Rs. 900crore

CST to Panvel in just 45 minutes by 2019?
High-Speed Rail Corridor May Cost 11,000 Crore
Manthan K Mehta | TNN

Mumbai: The techno-economic feasibility study for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus-Panvel high-speed corridor has pegged the project’s cost at Rs 11,000 crore. It has recommended 9-car services for the corridor and a travel time of 45 minutes by 2019, as against the present 77 minutes.
Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (RITES) presented an interim report to the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), which will execute the project in association with the state government through a publicprivate partnership. The corridor will establish rail connectivity between South Mumbai and the Navi Mumbai international airport.
The consultant has recommended halts at 10 destinations, including Navi Mumbai airport. A senior MRVC official said, “It will halt at select stations on the Harbour line and can attain a maximum speed of 110 kmph to ensure faster transportation of commuters. Halts have been identified according to the importance of stations or where the interchange facility is available through the rail, metro or mono networks.”
The frequency of train services is estimated at 4.5-5 minutes. The official said, “It will ensure at least 14 services per hour. Due to the continuous automatic train control (CATC), headway can be improved without compromising on safety.”
The system is expected to have 21,000 peak hour-peak direction (PHPD) trips by 2019 and 39,000 by 2031. The official said, “We expect a 30% shift from the suburban line and 20% shift from road traffic once operations begin on the corridor.”
The corridor will run on broad gauge, with each coach having a capacity of around 350 passengers. Unlike the seat position in existing rakes, coaches for the proposed corridor will have a longitudinal design, similar to the Delhi Metro.
The new terminal for the service will come towards the east of CST.
The official said, “The elevated route will follow P D’Mello Road/Barrister Nath Pai Marg and will enter railway land just short of Reay Road between the existing track and under-construction eastern freeway. It will be at an elevated level up to Mankhurd, from where it will take the ground level up to Panvel and the Navi Mumbai international airport.”
RITES also identified spots where station buildings can come up. The official said, “The alignment will be more or less final, barring minor changes in the final report that will be submitted a few months later. The project’s financial model will soon be submitted too.”
The CST-Panvel corridor alignment will skirt Navi Mumbai airport.
But the consultatn has recommended an 8.5km spur route linking the airport via the Nerul Seawood section

TOI (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/05/15&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00401&ViewMode=HTML)
Virar-Dahanu to get extra lines
Mumbai: The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has approved a proposal for a feasibility study for laying of the third and fourth lines between Virar and Dahanu, besides exploring the possibility of extension of the suburban rail corridor from Panvel to Karjat. The decision was taken at a meeting of the MRVC’s board of directors on Monday and the process will begin to appoint a consultant, who will carry out the study for both corridors. A senior MRVC official said, “The distance between Panvel and Karjat is 29 km. If the rail link is established between these two destinations, the distance between CST and Karjat via Panvel will become 78 km. The existing distance via main line between CST and Karjat is 100 km. Extending the rail link from Panvel to Karjat will bring down the distance from CST by 22 km.” MRVC is also keen to quadruple tracks in the 63 km-long Virar-Dahanu section. The official also said suburban rail connectivity between Virar and Dahanu will have to be increased and improved as many housing projects have come up between these destinations.

HT (http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Panvel-Karjat-line-feasibility-study-gets-central-rly-nod/Article1-855857.aspx)
Panvel-Karjat line feasibility study gets central rly nod

The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has approved a feasibility study for the extension of the line between Panvel and Karjat. This means that Harbour line services could be extended up to Karjat and suburban trains could run between Panvel and Karjat in the future.
The route is currently used mainly for goods traffic.
The decision was taken by the MRVC’s Board of Directors meeting on Monday. The board also approved a feasibility study for the quadrupling of the Virar-Dahanu stretch, which is important in order to run suburban services till Dahanu.

“The present rail corridor between Virar and Dahanu Road is saturated and requires augmentation for additional suburban services,” said an MRVC release.

Both proposals are aimed at improving connectivity within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), which is witnessing rapid growth and transport infrastructure is under tremendous pressure.

“The feasibility study for the extension of the suburban section on the Panvel-Karjat route has been approved taking into account the future needs of that region. At present a lot of developmental activity is going on in that area. Also, the new lines will cut travel time between CST and Karjat,” said an MRVC official.

The Panvel-Karjat section is around 28 km.