The second air-conditioned rake, just on paper at the moment, has one aspect of it already frozen.
The second air-conditioned rake, just on paper at the moment, has one aspect of it already frozen. Central Railway and Integral Coach Factory-Chennai officials overseeing the trial and testing of the first rake have decided that the second AC rake must have a height of 4,270mm. This is 25mm less than the first one, which stands taller at 4,295mm than its Bombardier counterpart (4,286mm). In fact, the first two Bombardier rakes that were brought in for trial were still taller at 4,287mm.
"The fitment of the Roof-Mounted Packaging Units — railway lingo for a train's air-conditioning mechanism — have been in such a way on the roof that this first AC rake has a height issue. However, the problem is easily surmountable and ICF has shown the willingness to do it. At 4,270mm, the AC rake can comfortably be used in the CST-Thane section, which has the best revenue potential for the rake as far as CR is concerned," explained an official.
The other big issue with the AC rake — the problem of harmonics — is also on the verge of being solved as an inductor to set these harmonics right is in transit and should reach CR in a couple of days. Harmonics is an electrical term for spurious signals that create disturbances in electrical signals and can end up damaging control mechanisms and other software that control and run modern trains. The inductor has been made by Netherlands-based firm Strukton Rail, which partnered with Indian power major Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) to build the train control and management system for the AC rake.
According to officials, if the inductor arrives by the end of August, then the dynamic trials, ie testing on the tracks in real time, would be carried out by the middle of September. Dynamic trials are expected to take at least till the end of November. The commissioning of the train might be an early 2017 — possibly January 26 — affair, said most officials dna spoke to.
As highlighted by dna in its May 19 edition, the electrical system for the second rake has already arrived at BHEL's Bengaluru plant after being shipped by Strukton from Netherlands.
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