Longer platforms for 15-car trains

Here’s some New Year cheer for railway commuters from Mira Road, Bhayander and Nallasopara.

Here’s some New Year cheer for railway commuters from Mira Road, Bhayander and Nallasopara.

HT Image

The Western Railway (WR) has decided to extend the platforms at these three stations to accommodate the 15-coach train. The world’s longest train is expected to halt at these stations from May 2010. Bandra station will also be an addition to this list.

The process of extending the platforms has begun at Bandra while it will start at other stations soon and is expected to be completed in six months.

“There is a scope for extending the length of platforms at these areas as there are no signals or tracks in the platform’s alignment,” said WR General Manager R.N. Verma.

The 15-car train, inaugurated by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on November 21, runs 12 services between Dadar and Virar and halts at Andheri, Borivli and Vasai.

The WR has started carrying out signal re-spacing work to increase the frequency of the train.

It also expects to complete work of changing Direct Current (DC) traction to Alternating Current (AC) line by February end, which would help trains run faster.

The WR is planning to increase the number of 15-car trains based on the demand from commuters and depending on the completion of the DC-AC conversion work from Churchgate to Virar.