Daisy
Patna : Railways is toying with an idea to design and manufacture air conditioned ( AC ) coaches for suburban train services across the country. It would be a boon for commuters travelling in the crowded local passengers during sultry weather condition.
A Railway Board official said the proposal had been approved by Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation ( MRVC ) but could not make much progress for the reasons not known. However, railways has decided to provide AC local passenger trains at places where feasibility to run such trains is very high, he said. According to sources , the Research Designs and Standards Organisation ( RDSO ), research and design organization of the Indian Railways, had earlier prepared a new blueprint for manufacturing AC local train coaches . It would be suitable for running suburban network on the pattern of metro rails. The cost of each AC bogie could be Rs 80 lakh to Rs 90 lakh, sources said.
The RDSO has successfully designed the AC local coach as per requirement of passengers . The RDSO is ready to manufacture an AC EMU ( electrical multiple unit ) bogie. However, the final decision is yet to be taken by the ministry of railways , the Board official said adding railway minister Suresh Prabhu is keen to improve the condition of commuters trains. The doors of the AC local trains will have to be kept closed throughout the journey like metro rails . At a place where number of commuters is too high or they are in habit of travelling on footboard due to rush in the compartment, AC local trains would not be successful, sources said.
The Western Railway ( WR ) had earlier converted a coach to an AC bogie at an additional cost of about Rs 17 lakh. It was introduced between Mumbai Central and Bandra for several days . Finally, this service was withdrawn as the WR did not get permission from higher authorities . Similarly, the proposed plan to run an AC local between Mumbai Terminal and Kalyan was rejected by railways following protests from passengers that railways was simply wasting its resources , sources said.
A Board official, however, felt that it is the need of the time to introduce AC local trains in suburban areas to cater to the needs of passengers on the pattern of foreign railways.