Longer rakes, frequent services leave Western Railway stretched

MUMBAI: Western Railway commuters have benefitted from measures like the introduction of 12-car rakes and increase in services over the years, but they say its punctuality has taken a beating in the process.
Officials too admitted that WR's moves to increase its capacity, by switching from 9-car rakes to 12-car and 15-car ones and introducing more services, may have inadvertently slowed it down.The punctuality of its trains has come down from 97% to around 95% and nearly 50 to 60 services are behind schedule on an average every day.
"A signal turns from red to yellow to double yellow and green as a train moves from one signaling territory to another. But a 9-car train occupies lesser signaling territory compared to a 12- or 15-car train. In the present situation, some trains are unable to hit maximum speed as it takes longer to get a double yellow or green signal. When the motorman sees a yellow signal, he has to reduce the speed to 38 kmph," a senior official explained.
The maximum speed on fast lines is 80 to 100 kmph, whereas it is atleast 50 to 60 kmph on slow lines if the signal is clear. Many services run behind schedule due to the extra time taken by the longer rakes to cross each signaling territory. However, it is difficult to recover the lost time with speed as the tracks are saturated due to the increase in services. Moreover, minor disruptions or trespassing incidents also delay trains.
In 2006-07, WR had 1,140 services, including 532 nine-car ones. After procuring new rakes, converting to AC traction and expansion of its rail corridor, WR now runs 1,305 services, of which 1,165 are 12-car and 30 are 15-car services.
"On an average, there is a 5-10 minute delay. But besides delays over signaling, the problem is also due to the retrofitted rakes, whose performance is below standard," claimed a motorman.
"I board a train to Bhayander at 8.23pm from Dadar, but it never reaches its destination on time, halting intermittently between stations," said Mira Road resident Vijay Pancholi. "Most trains halt for at least four to six minutes between Dahisar and Borivli," said Shailesh Goyal, former member of the Zonal Rail User Consultative Committee.
A senior railway official said, "Our first task is to re-position the signals to allow trains to run at maximum speed. The signal poles were installed keeping in mind 9-car services."
WR has also decided to remodel the yard at Borivli and plans to improve its services with help from the Indian Institute of Technology-Powai. WR's divisional manager Shailendra Kumar said, "We will take a number of steps to improve punctuality."
On the other hand, Central Railway suburban system, spread across 300 km, operates 1618 services, including 825 on its main line corridor. The frequency of service on WR is 3 minutes, compared to 4 minutes and 5 minutes on main line and harbour line of CR, respectively.
The nine to twelve stretch
2006: 1,043 services, 4 minutes per services
2013: 1,305 services, 3 minutes per service
Auto-signaling: Signals automatically convert from red to yellow, double yellow and green once a train hits its track circuit
Track circuit: It is an electrical circuit installed to know if a train is occupying the track in a particular section. It comprises a power supply at one end and a relay on the other end
Distance: Signal poles are installed at a distance of 400-500 meters, the length of each coach is 22 meters. The change to 12-car means a train takes longer to hit its track circuit, which has reduced train speeds as the motorman often encounters a yellow signal restricting him to a speed of 38kmph. This has a cascading effect on services
The Borivli issue
At Borivli, authorities plan to remodel the yard to allow simultaneous entry of trains in the Churchgate direction on both platforms 5 and 6. Shifting the cross-over further north will help resolve the problem. WR has requested the BMC for a small patch of land to carry out the modification.