The Central Railway (CR) has decided to remove all British-era overhead equipment (OHE) mast by June 2022. Work of removal of these unused masts has already started.
One such heavyweight OHE mast in the Ghatkopar section was removed on the intervening night of November 8-9 using two cranes and 22 personnel.
There are 14 such old and heavy structures between CSMT and Kalyan stations which will be dismantled to improve the railway skyline.
Officials said these steel structures are old and unused , might be corroated in future . Hence need to be removed .
Sources in the CR said these OHE masts were erected at the time of initial electric traction work of 1,500-volt direct current (DC) trains. At that time, electrical clearances were sufficient; however, after the conversion of the traction system from 1500 volt DC to 25,000-volt alternating current (AC), the electrical clearances became critical.
In this situation, if any bird sits on an old structure, heavy sparks are caused, further leading to chances of accidents. “Therefore these old over-slung OHE portals are required to be replaced with new underslung portals,” an official said.
When asked why 14 unused structures remain, officials said the replacement of these portals involves major modification in OHE. They said that for the replacement of one such structure, at least four to five new structures are erected for re-spanning of OHE and maintaining the contact wire gradient. This work requires traffic blocks, which further inconveniences passengers, especially in suburban sections.
