Special trains to cut down travel time to far-off suburbs on Western Railway

Special trains to cut down travel time to far-off suburbs on Western Railway

Iram SiddiqueUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 10:08 PM IST
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Around 10 trains which were retrofitted to run on Alternating Current (AC) are proving to be a hurdle on WR. These trains which can only attain a maximum speed of 80 kmph are causing inconvenience at a time when officials are planning on cutting down the travel time. However, WR officials are expecting that these trains will soon be passed on to Central Railway following the induction of new trains on WR.

Mumbai : In an effort to match the fast-paced life of Mumbaiites, the Western Railway (WR) is all set to reduce the travel time to far off suburbs such as Vasai and Virar from December, helping commuters reach their destination sooner.

By making small changes in the current operation of some trains on the suburban section, the travel time to Virar will be cut down by over 10 minutes. There will be around 10 to 12 such trains, some run during the morning peak hours and some late in the night.

At present, it takes a fast train an hour and 21 minutes to reach Virar, but the same train will be able to reach Virar in 1 hour and 10 minutes once the changes are made. A senior official said: “Running trains with improved timings during the night will specifically help lady commuters cut down their travel time late in the night.”

 In order to reduce the travel time, a specific clear pathway will have to be created for these trains and it will also have to be ensured that they do not get stuck due to any long distance trains.

Officials are also mulling on cutting down the halts of the fast trains which run as slow trains halting at all stations between Mumbai Central and Churchgate. According to them this will help them in gaining time.

“During a survey, we found that not many people board or alight fast trains at Marine Lines and Grant Road when compared to Charni Road, which has many schools, colleges and hospitals around it,” added the official.

So, instead of halting at all the four stations between Mumbai Central and Churchgate, the train will halt only at Charni Road. Officials are also working on improving the maximum speed of the trains from the existing 100 kmph to 110 kmph.

Iram Siddique

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