12-coach train on Mumbai’s Harbour Line: Poor signages, few services pique commuters

The 12-coach rake is now running 14 services on the line. Commuters complained of not enough services during peak hours. “The 12-coach train is a welcome move. But there are no services between 8 am and 10 am to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or between 5 pm and 7 pm,” said Gagan Vohra, a railway activist.

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Platform indicators and railway announcements too have hardly come to the rescue of passengers. Lack of timely announcements and signages announcing the arrival of the 12-coach train have left commuters angry.

On the other side, Vadala station has been able to make better use of the platform extensions. “The plan is to shift the station master’s office to the far end of the platform in order to give more space to the commercial department of the station, which presently occupies one room inside the office,” said an official.

Construction of sun shades and levelling of platforms are continuing at stations in Vadala and Dockyard Road. Officials said the work was likely to get over before the monsoon.

The new services have also increased the workload of motormen. A motorman, who did not wish to be named, said, “Generally, there should be a one-metre gap between the EMU halts and signal board placed at each station. However, after the platforms were extended for the 12-coach train, some EMU halts have been placed exactly in line with the signal boards, which is creating panic among motormen while stopping the trains.”

Stations including Tilak Nagar, Kurla and Dockyard Road have a similar problem, he said.

The Central Railway said it would take three more months to convert its entire fleet of 36 local trains from 9-car to 12-car. The Harbor Line carries around 10 lakh commuters daily.

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