The Railway’s modern 1400 High Horse Power Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) rakes aimed at solving the commuting problems of short distance commuters will start operating services in Ernakulam district from June 21.
Union Minister for Railways, Suresh Prabhu will flag-off the DEMU services in the Angamaly-Ernakulam-Tripunithura-Piravom corridor at a function to be organised in Ernakulam on Sunday.
Details of the services were finalised at a meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, chaired by Minister for Power and Railways Aryadan Mohammed. “A diesel-powered rake (train) is on its way to Ernakulam for Sunday’s inauguration. An eight-coach mainline electrical multiple unit (MEMU) train will take over from Monday and operate on all days except Sundays,” Divisional Railway Manager Sunil Bajpai told The Hindu .
The rake will be taken to the Kollam MEMU shed for maintenance on Sundays. The fare will be affordable, as in existing inter-district MEMU services. There would be no AC coaches for now, he said. The main railway stations in the present corridor are Angamaly, Aluva, Ernakulam Town, Ernakulam Junction, Tripunithura and Piravom.
The train will operate from 6 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. It will operate eight daily trips, with Ernakulam Junction as the terminal station. The decision of the railways to introduce DEMU follows the high patronage for the DEMU rakes introduced by Southern Railway in the Salem-Vridhachalam-Salem sector from last month.
The “push-pull’’ type rake to be deployed will consist of eight coaches-two Driving Power Coaches on both ends and six passenger coaches and can carry up to 1,300 passengers. The coaches are inter-connected with vestibules and the commuters can move from one end to another end of the rake.
The passenger cars will have a capacity of 312-96 sitting and 216 standing-as against 90 in the conventional day coaches. In the two driving power cars, the capacity will be 138. Another passenger-friendly feature of these DEMU rakes are the presence of toilet at one end of each passenger car.
Mr. Bajpai said the train service could be operated using existing infrastructure in the Angamaly-Piravom corridor.
“The MEMU will be substituted by a diesel electrical multiple unit (DEMU) once Harbour Terminus railway station in Wellingdon Island and Old Railway Station located behind Kerala High Court, to where rail route has not been electrified, are renovated. Extending the intra-district service to the two stations is awaiting Southern Railway’s approval,” he said.
Thursday’s meeting also discussed renovation of the two stations, repairing rails, signals and allied equipment and the need for rehabilitating people living on Railway premises. The others who participated include Additional DRM P. Mahesh; Senior Divisional Operations Manager P. L. Asok Kumar; Minister for Excise and Ports K. Babu; K.V. Thomas, MP; MLAs from the district; Mayor Tony Chammany, Chairman of Kochi Corporation’s Town Planning Standing Committee K.J. Sohan, an avid votary of suburban-rail corridor with Ernakulam as the base; GCDA Chairman N. Venugopal and senior officials of Cochin Port Trust and the Navy.
Railway officials also said tenders had been awarded for Thirunettur railway overbridge for which the State would give Rs. 9 crore and Rs. 3 crore would be made available from MP’s fund. The plan for Vathuruthy railway overbridge has been approved and Navy and Port Trust clearances received.
The State government also sanctioned Rs.2 crore for augmenting waiting room amenities at Ernakulam Junction and Town railway stations.
