The two main field trials of the rake are the oscillation trial and the performance trial.
The trials of the air-conditioned local is set to begin on March 15, a top Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited official told DNA on Wednesday.
A joint team of BHEL and the Research Development Standards Organisation (RDSO) — the railway’s apex technical authority — will be inspecting the rake in the next few days after which the trials — called oscillation tests — will begin on Central Railway. It is now certain that despite the tall promises of railway ministry, the rake will not be commissioned in the financial year ending March 31, 2017.
The trials, delayed for months now, are to be conducted on Central as well as Western Railway after which the railway ministry will take a call on which railway will run the rake. For the moment, all permissions that WR has got to run the rake on its network between Churchgate and Virar are oral ones, not mandatory written permissions.
The two main field trials of the rake are the oscillation trial and the performance trial. Oscillation trials are carried out for assessing the speed potential, the riding quality and stability at different speeds on straight and curved tracks of concerned sections. The performance or service trials will consist of running the train in real-time conditions using loaded gunny sacks to replicate the weight of passengers.
As per the current schedule, the oscillation trials will be conducted on CR and the performance trials on WR. When contacted, WR chief public relations officer Ravinder Bhakar said that no communication had been received from the Railway Board about trials on WR.
Bhakar said that the problem that the rake was facing below the Mahalaxmi foot-overbridge has been resolved. The AC rake, with a height of 4295mm, is the tallest ake in the city and did not have the mandated technical and safety height clearance beneath the Mahalaxmi foot-overbridge.
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