Scores of people precariously hanging on to the doors of jam-packed coaches have been the defining picture of Mumbai’s suburban trains.
However, termed the lifeline of maximum city, the open-door trains have also over the years led to many casualties.
Now, after two years of intensive tests and trials, the city on Wednesday finally got its first automatic sliding door trains.
The new-age Bombadier-powered suburban rakes with electrical fittings are expected to prevent people falling off.
The Railways described the train’s first journey from the Churchgate station here a “historic” run. Incorporated into the regular western suburban services, it has “improved and comfortable features” and a maximum speed of 100 kmph.
Restricted speed
However, the trains will have to run at a restricted speed. The decision to run the two rakes was taken after the Railway Board finally sent the sanction letters to the Central and Western Railways. The letters point out that the trains would be run at a maximum speed of 70 kmph from Churchgate to Borivali on the slow track and 80 kmph on the fast track from Chruchgate-Borivili and Borivili-Virar-Dahanu Road.
Churchgate is at the southernmost tip of Mumbai while Borivali and Virar are in the suburban area.
The speed of the trains is likely to be increased after a few months.
The introduction came after test runs during peak hours. Eight successful trips, four of them during peak hours, were completed on Tuesday.
While activists welcomed the initiative and said it would help prevent mishaps and cases of negligence they rued the delay in the introduction.
The local trains ferry 7.5 million commuters daily — roughly 30 per cent of the daily national rail traffic.
In the past decade, RTI information reveals, 37,383 persons were killed in local train accidents.
