The city will see the first of its three-phase Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit (MEMU) trains with the Southern Railway replacing the conventional rake of Train Nos 06478/06477 Mangaluru Central-Kannur-Mangaluru Central Unreserved Express Special on January 26.
While MEMU coaches have more carrying capacity than conventional coaches, the main advantage will be that the rake does not require loco reversal as the motor car coaches on both the ends can move the rake on either direction. With Mangaluru Central being a dead-end station, loco reversal was mandatory and with a MEMU train, considerable operational time can now be saved.
Indigenous MEMU
A 12-coach MEMU with three motor cars and nine trailer cars propelled by three-phase AC system manufactured indigenously by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, will be deployed replacing the conventional rake of the train.
While each motor car can accommodate 55 sitting and 171 standing passengers, each trailer car will accommodate 84 sitting and 271 standing passengers. Thus, a 12-coach three-phase MEMU can accommodate 3,603 passengers, 921 sitting and 2,682 standing, in all. A conventional MEMU on the other hand, can carry 2,634 passengers, in all.
Passenger amenities
The steel body coaches with easy to slide, light-weight sliding doors and fibre reinforced polymer interior panels will also have CCTV surveillance system and LED lights. GPS-based passenger information system, public announcement system, bio-toilets in trailer cars are the other features. Cabins of the motormen and guard are air-conditioned. The three-phase MEMU rakes with insulated-gate bipolar transistor facilitates improved acceleration and braking performance even as the regenerative braking system can help save up to 35% of energy compared to conventional MEMUs. The electricity so generated will be fed back to the grid.
A 10.4 inch touch screen driver display unit in motor cars will provide information about Train Control and Monitoring System to help the motorman in operating the rake. Coaches are provided with air spring as secondary stage suspension and as a safety feature, DDU will indicate any failure to the motorman to restrict the train’s speed to 55 kmph.
Schedule
Train No 06477 is scheduled to leave Kannur at 7.40 a.m. to reach Mangaluru Central at 10.55 a.m. In the return direction, Train No 06478 leaves Mangaluru Central at 5.05 p.m. to reach Kannur at 8.40 p.m. The evening service is largely patronised by students and the regular travellers.
