8-line maintenance facility to come up for Vande Bharat trains at Wadi Bunder, CSMT

The official further said that the facility will be developed as more Vande Bharat trains are expected from Mumbai connecting other states and cities.

Already two Vande Bharat trains are operational from CSMT for Shirdi and Solapur. Third for Goa will also be commissioned starting from Mumbai. So a dedicated maintenance facility is needed to take care of these rakes.

The commercial operations of Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat train have been kept on hold following the Odisha train accident, which happened a day before the formal inauguration of the train. Wadi Bunder is the oldest yard in the city. Established in the pre-independence era, in 1882, the yard would in its initial days boast 14 sheds and 64 main lines for trains. These 14 sheds would be used for excessive loading and unloading of commodities, mostly cement, foodgrains, explosives and other raw materials.

From maintenance of coaches to washing of the trains, Wadi Bunder proved to be one of the major economic hubs then. However, the workload eventually reduced. Now fifty per cent of the yard lies idle which is spread on over 19 hectares of land parcel.

Meanwhile, Mumbai’s Wadi Bunder site has been selected for maintenance of Vande Bharat trains starting from CSMT due to its close proximity with the station. At Wadi Bunder, there are already eight lines where the conventional mail express trains originating from CSMT undergo primary maintenance. The two Vande Bharat Express trains for Shirdi and Solapur are also maintained by railways here only.

The official said, “The new 8 lines will be an additional facility that will be made available for these modern era trains. Moreover, the maintenance will be done through a private contractor.” The official said that all eight lines will not be given to the private contractor. It will be given as per the requirement as more Vande Bharat trains get added into the fleet.

Also, of the eight lines that have been proposed to be developed, four lines will be developed, intially — three for maintenance and one will be a sick line (meant for major and periodical maintenance of the coaches), explained the official.

As per sources from railways, there is plan to introduce more Vande Bharat trains from CSMT Mumbai for Kolhapur, Jalna etc depending on the demand and popularity in coming days.

Another senior official from Central Railways said, “The private contractor which will be hired for maintenance work may develop the infrastructure of maintenance at railways place.”

The official said if the land is of private entity where the maintenance facility is developed then there may be a possibility it may discontinue the service for whatsoever reason.