With over 80 suburban services being cancelled on Wednesday on account of four inches of water above rail level, the Central Railway fears services will be hit during monsoon due to the lowering of tracks following AC-DC conversion between CST and Thane. The Central Railway is lowering tracks at four road-over-bridges between this stretch. Flooding of tracks at these locations is a prime concern, said officials. The CR aims to commission the new alternating current traction on the section from August 15. Faster trains and saving energy are the two primary goals of the traction conversion work, which is being undertaken between CST and Thane. Unable to meet safety clearance for the overhead equipment (OHE) for the new traction under road-over-bridges and foot-over-bridges at Kurla, Sandhurst Road, Chinchpokli, Currey Road and Matunga, CR is in the process of lowering tracks between 5 to 8 cm at these locations. Officials fear that the work could be a cause of concern raised by the commissioner of railway safety (CRS) when the authority is asked for an inspection of the work in the coming days. "The discussion on traction conversion has been on for several years now, however, the crucial work of raising the height of the road-over-bridges has not been addressed by the agencies concerned. Waiting for the height of the bridges to be raised will mean postponing the traction conversion work by a couple of years. Though many in the administration are skeptical about lowering tracks in flood prone areas, they have no choice,” said a senior CR officer, who did not wish to be named. “We hope to complete the conversion work by August 15, in line with the expectations of the new government, which is keen on speeding up crucial projects,” said a CR official, adding that the work of OHE is near completion. Though authorities are skeptical about the impact of lowering tracks, with the CR rushing to finish work soon, there is a likelihood that the new Bombardier rakes might be given to it. At present, two rakes are undergoing trials on both CR and Western Railway (WR). For a successful commissioning of the new traction, CR will require an additional eight rakes, besides its fleet of 75. CR is expecting to retrofit three rakes and get five from WR, of which two are likely to be the new rakes, said an officer. priyal.dave@expressindia.com
