4 yrs on, blast-hit coaches on track

Four years after the 11/7 serial bomb blasts, the Western Railway is still running five of the seven blast-affected coaches and claims it is their fitting reply to terrorism.

Four years after the 11/7 serial bomb blasts, the Western Railway is still running five of the seven blast-affected coaches and claims it is their fitting reply to terrorism.

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At least three of these coaches were in service on Sunday. “Nothing can shake this city and its lifeline, the suburban services. We have shown this to the terrorists by pushing five of the seven blast affected coaches back in service,” a senior Western Railway official said.

The coaches cannot be easily identified today as they have been converted into either second-class compartments or driving cabs and mixed with trains that run between Churchgate and Borivli.

The railways had revived the coaches in 2007 itself, at a cost of about Rs 1.2 crore. Senior officials said that of the seven blast-affected coaches, two were shelved as they were too old and beyond repair. But the other five were repaired at a Lower Parel workshop. “These coaches are closely monitored and before putting into service, runs of these carriages were simulated at the workshop under all conditions,” he added.