Twitter
Advertisement

Harbour line faces the heat after DC-AC conversion

The direct effect of all these problems, according to officials, falls on the punctuality of trains. The morning peak hours punctuality of trains has fallen from 94 percent in April 2015 to 87 percent in April this year.

Latest News
article-main
File photo of the last DC local, which ran on April 9 this year
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The conversion of the electrical systems on Harbour line from 1,500 Volt Direct Current to 25,000 Volt Alternating Current (DC to AC) on April 10 has created more than its fair share of problems for the commuters. According to central railway (CR) sources, in the past few days, as many as 26 rakes have faced problems with their motors, including some of them heating to dangerous levels, due to problems with the voltage. The issue came up at a meeting held by the top railway officials on Thursday.

The direct effect of all these problems, according to officials, falls on the punctuality of trains. The morning peak hours punctuality of trains has fallen from 94 percent in April 2015 to 87 percent in April this year. Similarly the punctuality of the evening peak hours has fallen likewise from 91 percent in April last year to 84 percent in April this year.

It has also created a situation where CR is having trouble replacing trains in case a rake malfunctions due to a technical problems. Harbour line needs 36 rakes to run the system at present but ideally 5-8 rakes also need to kept on standby to tide over untoward incidents like a motor outage of a train or some other technical problem.

"The lack of enough rakes means there are hardly any standby rakes in the shed. This is creating trouble when a rake has to be replaced quickly," said an official.

"There are some other issues of trains halting at stations for longer time because of some confusion among passengers over the positioning of longer 12-coach trains but that has been a minor hiccup when compared to the technical problems that the conversion from DC to AC has thrown up," the official added.

Speaking to dna, Amitabh Ojha, divisional railway manager, CR, called it a transitional problem. "There were voltage problems on a particular day. It is true we are facing teething problems which I believe will settle down soon. There have been issues like the fact that we had to induct converted rakes and overhauled rakes into the network much sooner than what we used to do previously. It will settle down in a few days time for sure," said Ojha.

First train in AC traction on harbour and Transharbour Lines (April 10):

At 04.46am Panvel - Vashi local on Up harbour line
At 05.40am Vashi -Panvel local on Dn Harbour line
At 05.11am Thane – Nerul local on Dn Transharbour line
At 05.24am Nerual-Thane local on Up Transharbour line
At 05.45am CST - Vashi local on Dn Harbour line
At 05.50am Vashi-CST local on Up harbour line

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement