With the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation getting into the final stages of extending Harbour line platforms to accommodate 12-coach trains, the cost estimate of buying rakes as per 2015 prices was around Rs1,100 crore.
Railway officials in Mumbai are hoping that the railway budget, to be presented on February 25, will take care of one every important aspect of train-running — the procurement of more rakes to run more services per day.
With the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation getting into the final stages of extending Harbour line platforms to accommodate 12-coach trains, the cost estimate of buying rakes as per 2015 prices was around Rs1,100 crore. These rakes have to be procured by Central Railway as per the railway ministry guidelines. The current thinking is that CR will deploy Siemens rakes it will get from Western Railway every time the latter gets a Bombardier rake.
The CR is also looking at more rakes to increase suburban services for which it will require more rakes. During his Republic Day speech on January 26 this year, CR general manager SK Sood mentioned that they would need about 150 new rakes to double the number of services it runs currently.
Apart from this, there is also pressure on both the CR as well as WR to convert more of its services into 15-coach ones in order to increase capacity. The standing committee on Railways which submitted its report to Parliament in April last year has recommended that both the railways look at increasing the length of a large part of their suburban fleet to 15-coach ones.
A report commissioned by MRVC and prepared by RITES in 2013-2014 had laid down that both the railways would require to procure at least three 12-coach rakes every year i.e. 36 coaches to increase some of their trains to 15-coach on an annual basis. Railway estimates made around 2014 stated that a sum of around Rs1,080 crores to buy 360 coaches to convert some of the trains into 15-coach rakes.
"Rake procurement is a very long process as we have to go in for global tenders. Moreover, the Integral Coach Factory Chennai also has its limitations and cannot be stretched beyond a point. All this means that the earlier work begins on rake procurement the better it is. We hope the railway budget will set in place some funds to procure the rakes the suburban system needs over the next few years," said an official.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "passengers")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}