55 trains called off, remaining delayed due to AC to DC conversion drive
Mumbai : Heavy rains and regular technical snags caused due to the AC to DC conversion have hit the commuters of Central Railway really hard. For the fifth consecutive day, services on CR were affected. This time it was following the snapping of power cables at Dadar.
The problem at platform number 3 at Dadar station was a result of the tripping of power cables due to instance heating following the conversion from DC to AC. The overhead wires were unchanged and still have been covered with an insulation sheet originally put for DC current.
“With the change to AC the voltage in these wires has been increased while the current has been reduced. With high resistance around these wires heat is generated which causes the wires to trip,” explained an official from CR.
Office-goers had to struggle in cramped trains as over 40 trains were cancelled and several other were running with a delay of over 40 minutes during the morning peak hours. The power in the section had to be turned off and the trains were diverted on the Up fast line (towards CST) between Matunga and Vidhyavihar between 7:15 am and 9:25 am.
With the mainline of CR reeling with OHE failure, the Harbour line was grappling with flooded tracks which caused the trains to run with a delay of 20 to 25 minutes. Priyanka Mukherjee, a resident of Belapur who was heading to CST, said, “The train was moving at a snail’s pace and came to an abrupt halt after some distance. While generally it took to 45 minutes to reach the CST, today it took one and a half hour.”
After the morning disruption on the mainline, the trains were running late throughout the day. Just while the train schedule was setting in there were two unit failure reported, one between Thane and Vikhroli and the other between Wadala and Raoli Junction during the evening peak hour.
The unit failure in which a train does not move due to problem in the motor coach was reported at 5:21 pm and was rectified at 5:39 pm. The train had to pulled out of operation which resulted in delay of about 30 minutes.
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Teething problems hitting services: CR
Mumbai : In less than a fortnight after the switch from DC to AC between Thane and CST, Central Railway’s ‘teething problems’ are giving a headache every other day. On Tuesday, another overhead cable broke off at Dadar taking the figure to seven in 15 days.
According to senior officials from CR, the breaking of cables is a result of high resistance of insulation cover which is coated around the overhead equipment. The catenary wire holds the over head wires to the pantograph which are shortened under the bridges. The shortened length of the catenary wires cannot carry the immense heat generated due to the high voltage and causes it to trip.
A senior official from CR said, “The insulation cover was for the wires which could carry Direct Current. But with AC traction there is high voltage causing it to melt instantly. We will be changing the insulation cover to ensure that such disruptions do not occur but it will take some time.”
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