Over 500 ‘overage’ coaches in use, says RTI application
Sidharth
by Prashant Rangnekar, Dec 15, 2008 EXPRSS INDIA
Mumbai : Even as a modernisation programme is being carried out by
both the Central Railways (CR) and Western Railways (WR) with new
swanky rakes making their way to the city every month, both these
railways continue to use over 500 coaches that are overage or past
their period of usability, according to information obtained by
Newsline through a Right to Information (RTI) application.
An EMU coach is termed 'over-aged' after it completes its codal life
of 25 years. With some 65 lakh commuters using these coaches everyday,
they constantly undergo wear and tear.
The WR, which has 71 EMU rakes (trains), runs 1,156 services daily.
The information revealed that of the total 877 coaches in the WR, 277
are overage, which is one-fourth of its total EMU coaches. All these
coaches are being used on a daily basis by the WR.
The WR, few years ago, had also manufactured a nine-car EMU rake
solely from overage coaches. However, the train was scrapped and not
put in service after the railway board rejected the train.
The CR is relatively better in terms of the use of over-aged coaches.
The CR has 144 nine-car rakes and 120 twelve-car rakes. The CR
comprises of 2,378 coaches. Of these, 244 are overage coaches. The RTI
reply revealed that it runs 200 overage coaches everyday.
Interestingly, under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project, both phase I
and II, the WR and the CR are expected to get 191 EMU rakes. Under
phase I of the project, a total of 32 EMU rakes have already been
commissioned out of which 16 EMU rakes have been given to WR while CR
has 16 new rakes.
The WR and CR have also maintained that 'proper precaution' is taken
during the usage of these coaches so that the safety of the commuters
is ensured. But a senior rail official pointed out that this in turn
increases the maintenance cost of these coaches. He also said, "Unless
the new EMU rakes are commissioned, we cannot phase out the old rakes
and coaches. These old coaches will be phased out from the services
systematically."
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/over-500-overage-coaches-in-use-says-rti-application/398590/