WR starts announcement of platforms inside trains

The Western Railway in Mumbai has started announcing which side of the train the platform will arrive on, and made changes to the passenger information system boards inside the coaches to display this information. This is being done to help commuters during peak hours when trains may change platforms at the last moment.

Mumbai: The Western Railway (WR) has started announcements inside their trains on which side of the train the platform will arrive on. This move is beneficial especially during peak hours, in case the train changes platforms just before its arrival.

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They have also made changes to the passenger information system (PIS) boards hanging inside the coaches, which also display this information.

According to sources in WR, the routes of each destination have been fed into the rakes. “Out of the 112 rakes, we have already incorporated this facility in 81 rakes. By mid-January we expect the entire fleet to have this,” said an official from WR.

The PIS, which displays information in three languages: English, Hindi, and Marathi; too has been fed with this update. The railway officials clarified that it’s more of a hardware improvement wherein they have changed the PIS display boards as well.

This is important for commuters, especially commuting during peak hours when at the last moment the motormen change tracks and the trains end up on another platform which is not the usual arrival point. “Anyone would dread to maneuver their way out through a crowded coach of a local train during peak hours only to alight on the opposite side. If there is a system to inform beforehand, then it is beneficial,” said Madhu Kotian, president, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh.

Initially, this was tried inside the AC local trains, the WR authorities have eight rakes out of the total 112 rakes in its fleet, after which it has been extended to non-AC suburban trains on the Churchgate - Dahanu route. The 27-29 lakh daily commuters on WR can expect four more new AC rakes of which two will arrive by March 2024 and the other two by March 2025 from ICF in Chennai.

Sources said that they are also working on an idea to have indicators on the external portion of the train’s coach that will display the destination of the said train. However, the WR spokespersons clarified that there are no such plans in the pipeline as of today.