Come Jan, more rakes to chug on city's local lines

Newer trains can be expected by Mumbaikars starting January next year. Orders have been placed for getting more trains that would ply both on Central and Western Railways. This was one of the subjects which were discussed at the meeting between Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and railway officers when he visited Mumbai on November 27.

To begin with, the Central Railway (CR) will get 20 new Bombardier rakes in phases, which is already being manufactured. "Orders have already been placed and we shall start getting them from January 2018. Once they arrive, they will be available for plying and would replace the existing old lot of rakes that are part of our fleet," said a senior CR official. They are getting the new rakes for the purpose of operating on the Rs 1,700 crore Seawoods-Uran rail line.

The CR has 14 old rakes of BHEL make which are always a cause of concern for the authorities as these incur technical failures frequently.