In reply to a query by dna on Tuesday, AK Agarwal, general manager of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, said, "Testing (of the motors) is progressing and we are looking at dispatching the rake by February-end."
One of the country's most delayed railway projects — air-conditioned local trains for Mumbai — has made a good beginning this year. According to railway officials, the testing of its four motors, which started in December, is progressing satisfactorily.
In reply to a query by dna on Tuesday, AK Agarwal, general manager of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, said, "Testing (of the motors) is progressing and we are looking at dispatching the rake by February-end."
The rake is being built at ICF while its electrical motors and train management system are being developed jointly by Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited and the Netherlands firm Strukton.
While the trials for the electrical systems are being done in Chennai, what officials believe will be the real deal would be testing of the rake's heavy air-conditioning. The trials of the rake in Mumbai are expected to take a few months — subjecting the rake to the city's humid salt-air summers as well as its heavy monsoons — to see how the new product, with its heavy air-conditioning, works.
As reported earlier by dna, at 15 tons each, these air-conditioners — called Roof-Mounted Packaging Units (RMPUs) in rail lingo — will be the heaviest ever on Indian Railways. These, officials believe, will be much more effective than the 10-ton RMPUs currently installed in the newly-built double-decker rakes and some trains of Kolkata Metro. Most of the trains on Indian Railways, including the Rajdhani, have RMPUs of seven tons, said officials. According to officials, each coach will have two such RMPUs, making it a total of 24 RMPUs for the 12-coach train.
dna had reported in its December 8 edition about the local missing its December 2015 deadline. A day later, a team from the BHEL as well as the ICF was summoned to the railway ministry to give an explanation on the delay.
Feb 2012: AC local is announced in 2012-2013 rail budget.
Feb 2014: The UPA govt sets July 2014 as the deadline.
Mar 2014: Construction is supposed to start, but only design of the rake's interiors gets finalised. There's a delay in sending electrical motors to the railways by the BHEL.
Jun 2014: The July 2014 deadline is pushed back to late 2014.
Aug-Sept 2014: Construction of shells of the rake begins at ICF, Chennai.
Sept 2014: Deadline is pushed back to January 2015.
Jan 2015: A new deadline is set — July 2015.
Apr 2015: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu says trials of rake to begin in Mumbai by September.
Jun 2015: October 2 is set as the new deadline.
Aug 2015: The deadline is again revised (December), which ICF says will be maintained.
Dec 2015: February 2016 is the new deadline as testing is still not over.
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