Mumbai Railway Discussions: Projects and Updates

[bhargavsura]

Crossposting:

Originally Posted by busfan

Interiors of the new rakes for Mumbai suurban:

image hosted on flickr

[bhargavsura]

New Energy Savings Trains to be introduced by 2010

After introducing the German technology new-age rakes, the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) is all set to offer Mumbai commuters a new set of trains with swanky interiors.



A set of 96 new 9-coach trains, which will roll out under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) Phase-2 by 2010, will have aesthetic and energy-friendly material adorning the interiors of the local trains.

Swanky interiors

The MRVC has engaged the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, to design the interiors and give it a better look with materials that are lighter in weight and tougher in strength, thereby reducing the overall weight of the bogies. The NID is expected to provide the new designs and materials in a year and a half.

"We use stainless steel inside the coaches, as it is corrosion free. But stainless steel puts a lot of load on the bogies. We want to offer coaches with better interiors and made with lighter materials," said PC Sehgal, MRVC managing director.

"The aim is to help conserve energy and we hope the NID comes up with a design that would cater to this condition," added Sehgal.

157
New-age rakes were introduced on WR and CR under phase-1

The trains we use now...
The trains that are currently used by CR and WR were manufactured by the Integral coach factory, Chennai, in collaboration with Germany-based Siemens company. The rakes have several features like forced ventilation, jerk-free rides, better lighting, improved looks and quicker acceleration and braking.

Source: Mid-day

[irutavias]

The interior for the new rakes is decent. Love the LCD displays - they're a must in every mode of public transport. Now the only two things left are AC and automatic doors. Once they manage to increase the frequency of the trains (after the addition of the 2 new tracks), the crowds will be more manageable and these additions will become more feasible.

[busfan]

In my frank opinion, all the talks of new hi-tech rakes is Bull shit. The technology used for the running equipment is excellent, no doubt about that. But one close look at the quality will dispel all thoughts of of "hi-tech". The quality is extremely bad, and it is getting worse with time.

[busfan]

Expansion plans on track Source: TOI Epaper

Mumbai: Railway officials hope that several schemes in the pipeline and others that have been already executed will decongest crowded suburban trains and stations. A proposal to have trains originate from and terminate at Grant Road is among the latest plans on the drawing board to ease the commute for lakhs of passengers.
New services, more platforms and augmenting nine-car services to 12-car ones are all part of the moves aimed at decongesting local stations and trains. Four services were introduced last week on the newly inaugurated Dahanu-Panvel line. Another 20 services, to be added when the Nerul-Turbhe line opens in December, will benefit more than 75,000 passengers.
Plans to help commuters leave or access stations easily are also on the table. “In the next five years, WR plans to have skywalks at all major stations,’’ said chief PRO (WR) S S Gupta.
A few days ago, WR introduced 23 new services on the overcrowded Churchgate-Virar sector. These new services were part of plans to add 200 services in 2009. Gupta said that of the remaining new services, most would be on the Dadar-Virar and Andheri-Bandra sectors, though a few would go up to Churchgate.
In the next three months, work on the Dadar midtown terminus will be completed. “The midtown terminus will cater to non-suburban trains first and then gradually to locals. There are also proposals for two new suburban platforms at a cost of Rs 5 crore at Dadar,’’ said Gupta. He added that the new platforms would boost the capacity of the station. This project, along with the Grant Road station expansion plan, will be submitted to the railway board in the next financial year.
Gupta said there are plans for two additional terminals at Andheri too, since there is only one terminating platform there.
WR, which presently carries 33 lakh commuters daily, anticipates a growth in traffic. “There are plans to convert all nine-car coaches to 12-car one in the next five years,’’ said Gupta.
After adding 88 services on the Thane-Vashi line, Central Railway (CR) will throw open the long awaited Turbhe-Nerul line soon. “CR is also increasing nine-car trains to 12-car on priority. This will greatly help decongest the main and harbour lines as the new coaches will carry one-third more passengers,’’ said chief PRO (CR) S C Mudgerikar.
As seen, the opening of the Thane-Vashi route has saved commuters time and energy by providing a direct link. Earlier, passengers had to change multiple trains if they had to go from the mainline to harbour. “The introduction of the Thane-Nerul line will further decongest the line,’’ said Mudgerikar.

[busfan]

GRANT ROAD STATION Expansion may cost Rs 7.5 crore Source: TOI E-paper

Mumbai: Western Railway has proposed to expand Grant Road station and use it as a terminus to deal with the rising traffic. Adding two new platforms in the next three years is among the plans. It will come up in the area where the parcel office and compound now stands on the east side of Grant Road station. The parcel office is off the north end of platform 4. The number of commercial and consumer parcels received at the office over the years has greatly decreased and the existing operations will be shifted to the Mumbai Central station and Bandra terminus.
The proposal was sent to the railway ministry last month and the expansion is expected to cost Rs 7.5 crore. A major share of the budgeting will be done in the second and third years. However, officials do not know as yet how many new services will be added due to the extra platforms and how many trains will terminate or originate from Grant Road.
“The new platforms at Grant Road station will cater to 12-car rakes. The distance between Mumbai Central and Churchgate is only 4 km, with the stations being 1 km
apart. The trains originating or terminating at Grant Road would attract commuters who generally board trains either from Mumbai Central or Charni Road. Also, the commuter traffic between 11.30 am and 4.30 pm, considered non-peak hours, is increasing and a Grant Road terminus will help cater to the increasing need,’’ said Gupta.
The railways are planning to construct a new entrance for the two platforms on the east side, where an access point already exists. “It would be connected to the existing railway station by extending the foot bridge on the north end,’’ he added.
Western Railway’s plans for decongestion aren’t limited to south Mumbai. It is also planning two new platforms at Dadar station, also on the east side of the WR tracks. They will cater to suburban commuters. The new platforms will be adjacent to the new mid-town terminus, which will be ready by March and cater mainly to long-distance commuters.
At present, 1,156 suburban services are run on WR and around 33 lakh passengers use them daily. The services include 100 Central Railway Harbour Line trains that run between Mahim and Andheri. In all, WR has 71 rakes, the latest being added only last week.

IMHO, the plan for expansion of Grant road has come too late. It will take three more years to be completed. This is like a phrase in Marathi "Tahan laaglyavar vihir khanne" (to start digging a well after you realise that you are thirsty)

[bhargavsura]

Source: Mid-day

[ImBoredNow]

Wow! That is some wide train.
Getting better at the aesthetics outside but inside.......there's room for improvement.

[qwertyasd]

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1208530
Wonder if they are doing this on purpose. Looks like someone there is
waiting for huge kickbacks.

Six months after its launch on the Central Railway, Kaizen Automation, the company manufacturing Go Mumbai cards, has alleged that Western Railway is dilly-dallying in introducing the contact-less smart card for the convenience of its 30 lakh commuters.

In a statement released the company said, “In a typical bureaucratic style, where the left hand does not know what the right is doing, WR is delaying the launch of touch-free Go Mumbai card on its suburban network.”

WR senior spokesperson Bhagwat Dahisarkar refuted the allegation saying, “We are in the process of finalising it and soon it will be launched.”

However, the statement said, “WR officials have not been able to sort out two fundamental issues needed to implement the scheme - dedicated connectivity and an escrow agreement with the State Bank of India.”

Connectivity is vital as every time the card is swiped, a certain amount is deducted from the e-purse and credited to the railways account. This can happen only if the card validators are connected to the bank. The second issue of signing an escrow account deal with State Bank of India, wherein the monies collected are transferred to the account, which the bank then forwards to the respective railways or BEST.

“This is not the only time that railways have dragged their feet on implementation of projects that benefit the city. Several projects of the MMRDA have also been held up due to non-clearance from the railway authorities,” the statement said.

Dahisarkar said, “A tripartite agreement was to be signed between WR,SBI and Kaizen. SBI has asked for some documentation from Kaizen which has defaulted, thus leading to the delay.”

[Euromast]

LCD televisions in Mumbai local trains

On 26/11, a railway announcer used the Public Address system to help save lives.

Following the attacks, Mumbai's local trains are getting an upgrade. It's one that'll help commuters keep track of the news and also help the railways make money

Now, the western railways is installing LCD screens in its trains to ensure that passengers know what's happening around them.

"We have burglar alarms in place to ensure that no one makes off with the screens in the night," said Vinay Reddy, MD, Hype Integrated Comm. Pvt. Ltd.

The LCDs will keep passengers informed, entertained and add nearly Rs 50 crores to the Railways' kitty.

"We will not be spending anything. This will be done on a build, operate lease and transfer basis," said Bhagwat Dahisarkar, PRO, Western Railway.

So what does Mumbai think of this?

"There is hardly space to stand most of the times. Where will we watch the screen from? People will watch TV and forget their bags," said a Mumbai resident.

In the next one and half years, all the trains in Western Railway will have LCD screens.

NDTV Vedio

[bhargavsura]

Here's more on it from a different source:

Crowded and long train rides on the suburban rail network of Western Railways may soon be more bearable with LCD screens broadcasting entertainment and advertising content to be installed in coaches of all trains by next year.


The screens will be fitted in five 12-coach trains as a pilot project, the first of which is expected to be operational from today.


"The screens will broadcast a mixture of advertising and entertainment content on them," L Vijaybushan Reddy, MD of Integracomm, which will install the screens, said.


Six LCD screens will be fitted at a strategic height in each of the 12 coaches of a train and will have features to prevent them being tampered or damaged by miscreants, he said.


A video player preloaded with content is fitted in one of the screens in each coach and broadcasts content to each of the six screens in a coach.


"We expect to install the screens on all 67 rakes of the Western Railways in the next 12 to 18 months. The technology for providing live content is also there and will be introduced in the future," Reddy said.


In order to prevent theft of the screens while the trains are parked or in use, sophisticated alarms have been installed to each of the screens, he said.


If a burglar attempts stealing a screen, apart from an alarm being activated in the train, an SMS would be generated and sent to police authorities present there, Reddy said.


The installation of the screens is also expected to net the Railways a sum of Rs 10 lakh per annum and requires no investment from them, a spokesperson for Western Railways said.


Hype Integracomm expects to generate revenue through advertisements that it will broadcast on the screens, and has signed a five-year contract with the Railways.


The Railways provided advertisers with a captive audience of over 70 lakh per day many of whom travelled for about 20 to 30 minutes in a train on an average, Hype Integracomm officials said.


The screens would also be used to display socially relevant messages, and once live content is provided it would help in the cases of emergencies as well, they said.


"We will also be installing the system soon on the suburban rail network of the Central Railways as well," Jignesh Sharma, CEO of Hype Integracomm, said.

Source: Mid-day.com

[bhargavsura]

Commuters say NO to AC in Mumbai Locals

Mumbai:

A Mumbai local on its way. The approximate cost of just three AC coaches would be Rs 10 crore pic/Bipin Kokate
It's too expensive, say second class commuters; ask for more coaches per local

The recent survey done by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) for Air Conditioned (AC) locals reveals that Mumbai commuters are not keen to travel in AC trains. Out of 50,000 forms distributed to commuters at different locations in Mumbai, 30,000 forms have been received. In this, almost 75 per cent commuters have rejected the idea of bringing in AC locals. Not surprisingly, most of these are second-class commuters.

MRVC has figured out the rough estimate of the fares to be charged from Churchgate to Borivali. It will be Rs 250 for the single journey and approximately Rs 3,500 for the monthly pass.

"First class commuters are willing to pay more for the AC trains, but second class commuters are refusing, saying that the railways first have to increase normal services. We have got suggestions to run partly AC locals," said a senior official from MRVC. The forms were distributed in local trains, corporate offices, streets and colleges so that it could reach the maximum number of people who commute by train. It included commuters from all age groups. The survey was completed in 20 days. There were nine questions in the form with the name, address and other details about the passenger.

Sachin Upadhyay, a businessman who commutes by trains regularly, said, "I fully agree with the idea. We're ready to pay higher fares in exchange for comfort. Mumbaikars have that capacity. Even these trains will get overcrowded."

Second-class commuters don't second this views. It has also been suggested in the forms that first all the locals should be made of 12 coaches, then it should be increased to 15 coaches and the extra three coaches should be made AC. This will maintain the frequency of locals, benefiting commuters.

Prakash Rao, Chief Operation Manager, MRVC said, "We have got maximum response suggesting a monthly pass scheme." The approximate cost of three AC coaches would be Rs 10 crore and per coach will have the capacity to carry a minimum of 200 commuters.

Source: Mid-day

[qwertyasd]

these idiots are hell-bent on raising the length to 15 coaches.

why do they argue for 15 coaches instead of a better signalling system that can allow trains every 2-3 minutes AND separation of local and long distance train tracks?

looks like they can make a lot of money by increasing the length of every platform on the system by 3 coaches.

About AC rakes - i would argue that all rakes must be made AC and there should no increase in charges. I hope the metro starts soon - when people see the kind of AC transport they can get at affordable rates, they will catch and kill these guys..

[bhargavsura]

Originally Posted by qwertyasd

About AC rakes - i would argue that all rakes must be made AC and there should no increase in charges. I hope the metro starts soon - when people see the kind of AC transport they can get at affordable rates, they will catch and kill these guys..

It is seemingly not at all feasible for Air conditioned Rakes...

I would say wait until the Metro or the Monorail to come up... See how people feel about the A/C coaches... If necessary, then do it... Right now, unless we have totally new railway stations and trains, this would seem meaningless.. It would also mean close doors and windows and jam-packed trains...

[bhargavsura]

Mumbai: Close on the heels of quadrupling the tracks between Borivli and Virar, the railways has now proposed to lay an additional pair of tracks from Virar to Dahanu as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP).
At present, there are only two tracks between Virar and Dahanu which are mostly used to run long distance trains. But now with work on in full swing to extend suburban services right upto Dahanu, authorities are planning the extra pair of tracks to accommodate suburban as well outstation trains.
Officials in the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) said the existing lines between Virar and Dahanu will be saturated once suburban services start from mid-2009. Against this backdrop, it’s important to plan additional tracks on this section right away.
P C Sehgal, MD of MRVC, said he has incorporated the plan for quadrupling of tracks between Virar and Dahanu in the third phase of the MUTP. MRVC is currently executing MUTP-I and will soon roll out the second phase of the World Bank-funded project.
Sehgal said the plan for additional tracks between Virar and Dahanu will be discussed with chief minister Ashok Chavan at a meeting on January 29. “We will apprise the state government of the plan to incorporate quadrupling between Virar-Dahanu in MUTP-III. The state government will have to part fund the MUTP-III like the previous schemes,’’ said Sehgal.
He said MUTP-III will also include additional lines between Virar, Vasai and Diva. This line, incidentally, is being
touted as one of the busiest corridors in the future as it is under-utilised right now.


Moreover, MRVC also plans to start 12-coach trains on the harbour line. With number of commuters on the harbour line fast spilling over, the upgradation from nine-coach to 12-coach could not have come earlier. The MUTP-III also intends to lay an extra pair of lines on the harbour route to optimise the running of the 12-coach trains. MUTP-III will also include fifth and sixth line between Virar and Borivli and introduction of 15-car coaches on the suburban tracks.

Source: TOI

[niknak]

It always amazes me that the state of Mumbai's railway (stations, trains, etc.) are so dilapidated and dirty and inefficient.

Since 6 million people use it everyday, I would have thought the government would have spent huge amounts of cash into making these world class or atleast decent.

[qwertyasd]

dude... check NY metro... it is as dirty if not more... the amazing thing is that the mumbai railway system manages to be so punctual...

i think the first aim should be to reduce the overcrowding and make the ride safe - stations improvements can always follow

[bhargavsura]

Originally Posted by Luckystreak

Mumbai Locals - The old and the new

pic by Spread_Smiles

Thanks LS!!!

[inus2663]

MUMBAI: Commuters travelling towards Dahanu will soon be able to avail of suburban train facilities. Work on the Virar-Dahanu stretch has gathered full steam. According to officials, work on Dahanu road station is likely to be complete by June 2009, making it feasible to run suburban trains in the section soon.

At present, commuters travelling beyond Virar have to depend on mail express trains or shuttle services.

Officials said that once work is complete, mandatory security checks will begin before trains can actually be allowed to ply on the line. "A timetable will then be finalised," said an official.

On Tuesday morning, labourers were hard at work at Palghar station, which will also have an auxiliary warning signal. This facility activates automatic braking in case a train exceeds the permissible speed limit.
There are two tracks beyond Virar. For suburban trains, the distance between tracks is 4.49 metres while its 4.2 metres for long-distance trains. Work on this section was crawling because there were patches where tracks couldn't be pushed apart.

Work on overhead sheds is in progress and height of platforms is also being increased by 30 cms to accommodate suburban trains.

Source: Times of India

[bhargavsura]

88% passengers opt for cool trips on train

Mumbai: The verdict is finally out and it’s overwhelmingly in favour of Mumbai getting air-conditioned trains.

About 88% of the 13,696 commuters, who took part in a survey conducted by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), have voted for AC travel on suburban trains. However, most were in favour of initially starting with a couple of AC coaches rather than having the entire train with a cool service.

The survey, which was conducted by the MRVC in December, had nine questions to check whether commuters were in favour of AC trains or not. The questionnaires were distributed on trains, at corporate offices, at stations and people could also fill forms online.

A huge majority—nearly 70%—of the respondents said they were willing to cut down on journeys by private vehicles or taxis if there were AC trains.

The survey also looked at how much more people were willing to pay if these services were introduced. More than half (52%) of those surveyed said they were willing to pay 50% extra than the existing first-class fare; 6% are ready to shell out 75% more or even double to get AC comfort though 36% did not respond.

The survey also found that commuters felt no need for separate coaches for women and men.

COMMUTERS’ VERDICT

79% of respondents travel by 1st class and 21% by 2nd class

88% of respondents said they were keen to travel by AC suburban trains

69% of respondents are willing to cut down on commute by private vehicles or taxis if

AC services are introduced on suburban trains. 15% are not willing and 16% did not cast their opinions

52% of respondents are ready to pay 50% extra to travel by AC coaches. 6% wanted to pay 75% more, while another 6% are ready to pay 100% extra. 36% did not mention anything

54% wanted partially AC trains, while 35% opted for a fully-AC train. The remaining 11% did not respond

51% of respondents travel by quarterly season tickets and 38% by monthly passes. Only 11% uses single/return journey tickets

Source: Times of India