Come summer and we have good news for you already!
Beat the summer heat by travelling in the first ever air-conditioned suburban local of Mumbai. The AC local has been parked at the Kurla Railway Carshed for servicing and software upgrades. The trial of the local would take place within a week at trans-harbour line of CR (Central Railway) as told by S K Sood, General Manager of Central Railway. However, the completion may take up to three to four weeks.
As told by another senior official of CR, the local will be tested by engineers from CR and ICF and a joint team of RDSO (Research Design Standards Organisation), railway’s apex technical body, BHEL and CRS (Commissioner of Railway Safety). During the first few trials, the AC local train will run at a speed of 50-60 kmph.
Built at a cost of Rs 54 crore, this first AC local train has 12 coaches out of which two could be reserved for women. The arrangement and layout of the AC local is similar to the existing trains; the only difference is the four motor coach with traction motor that has a longitudinal equipment box covering two seats. It is learnt that the operation of AC local was announced in 2012-13 Rail Budget, but due to impediments and hiccups in the design stage, the project was delayed.
All you need to know about the AC local
- The AC train will allow you to manually open the doors using knobs. This feature will be helpful for passengers stuck in an unwanted situation, whether inside or outside.
- The local will have both regenerating braking and IGBT-based 25,000 volt AC traction that’ll help generate power as well as put it in the system whenever the motorman applies brakes.
- Coaches will have the provision of transparent luggage racks with aluminium extrudes.
- In case of emergency, commuters would be able to speak to both the guards and the mortorman, thanks to the talk-back facility.
- Passengers would be able to enjoy a panoramic view outside owing to the huge windows, the AC suburban local features.
- People would be able to walk from the first to sixth coach, as six out of 12 coaches will be connected with an air-tight vestibule.
- Unlike existing locals, the train will boast of GPS-based LED displays, which will allow railways to provide real-time information about the position of the train.
- The train will have automatic doors that would be operated with the help of buttons in the motorman cabs.
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