Interval between locals to be reduced from 3 to 2 mins: Railway minister

The railways is also working on augmenting the quality of commute on suburban locals, the railway minister said

Mumbai: Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said the headway or interval between suburban locals in Mumbai will be brought down from the current 180 seconds (3 minutes) to 120 seconds (2 minutes). Efforts are also underway to improve ventilation and air conditioning in local trains using technology similar to that used in Vande Bharat rakes, Vaishnaw told reporters during his visit to the city.

An exhibition was organised at CSMT to mark 100 years of the first electric-powered train journey in India, between CSMT and Kurla. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

“In the first phase, we will bring down the headway from 180 to 150 seconds. After that, it will be gradually brought down to 120 seconds, depending on the completion of various ongoing and proposed works,” said the railway minister. The number of locals on Central and Western Railways will be increased by 10% from the current 3,000 services per day, keeping pace with the reduction in headway, he said.

The railways is also working on augmenting the quality of commute on suburban locals, the railway minister said.

“We intend to provide local trains with better facilities including HVAC (hearing, ventilation and air conditioning) technology which is in use in Vande Bharat trains and supplies 99.99% bacteria-free oxygen. We are also looking to change the design of bogies,” said Vaishnaw.

There is no clarity yet on the new design for bogies or when they might be pressed into service, said sources. The newly-designed coaches could be inducted under phase 3 and 3A of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) or fresh orders could be placed for them, they added.

The procurement of 238 air-conditioned rakes for suburban services in Mumbai is already underway through phase 3 (47 AC rakes) and 3A (191 AC rakes) of MUTP, though the process has been halted due to political opposition, the sources said.

Around 301 km of new railway lines being laid under MUTP, are in various stages of completion. They include lines between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Parel, Kalyan and Asangaon, Kalyan and Kasara, Airoli and Kalwa, and Borivali and Virar (harbour line). Work on capacity building is underway at nine train terminuses.

Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of the Federation of Suburban Rail Passenger Associations said the railways should first complete ongoing works before deciding to reduce the headway. “There are so many rail projects that are running slow. They must be finished first,” he said.