The ubiquitous railway message, ‘To stop train pull chain’ will be missing from the 6.15 p.m. Ladies Special from Churchgate on Tuesday, as Western Railway (WR) plans to run a newly designed rake to mark its 69th foundation day. The local train will have a few new features, most notably a push button instead of the emergency chain.
Other upgrades include the seats, which have been redesigned in both the first and second class coaches. The first class will have brown cushioned seats with a higher backrest.
Plush seats
In the general compartment, the seats have been made from Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP), instead of polycarbonate sheets. According to WR officials, the move came after complaints of polycarbonate seats breaking.
The rake will also be the first to have CCTV cameras and new grab handles. The partition at the doors have also been changed from steel to FRP. Only two such rakes, called ‘Uttam rakes’, have been developed by Integral Coach Factory, one of which has been sent to WR.
“The rake will be introduced on a pilot basis and based on the reactions of the commuters, future manufacturing of similar rakes will be undertaken,” Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer, WR, said.
