Changing City: Wadi Bunder — Mumbai’s oldest rail yard being upgraded for maintenance of new age Vande Bharat trains
Wadi Bunder, established in the pre-independence era in 1882, is the oldest yard in Mumbai.
3 min read
The Central Railway has four Vande Bharat Express trains on its routes. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar) For the modern-day Vande Bharat Express trains, the Central Railway has decided to upgrade one of Mumbai’s oldest rail yards — Wadi Bunder. The Central Railway has four Vande Bharat Express trains on its routes and in order to ensure proper maintenance and cleaning of the rakes, the authorities are converting Wadi Bunder into a world class facility with modern day equipment.
Proposed plan: The Central Railway has proposed a dedicated eight-line maintenance facility for Vande Bharat Express trains at the Wadi Bunder yard.
History: Wadi Bunder is the oldest yard in the city. Established in the pre-independence era in 1882.
How the new machines work: Previously, cleaning was carried out with the help of conventional vacuum cleaners which were bulky and required a lot of electrical connections. Now, the depot has upgraded the cleaning equipment and the vacuum cleaners use cyclone technology to generate strong forces to capture dust and debris. The equipment are light in weight and can be carried around by a single person. They also do not require long wires for power connection as the machines can run on batteries for up to 60 minutes. All the vacuum cleaners have LCD screens which show second by second run time count down and performance reports.
Cost: One machine costs approximately Rs 50,000. At present, three machines are working for the Vande Bharat Express trains. More machines will be procured on a need basis in future.
What is the plan: Presently, the equipment is used for Vande Bharat coaches only. However, the Mumbai division is planning to equip on board housekeeping service (OBHS) staff with these vacuum cleaners in other premium trains too.
What officials have to say: Dr. Shivraj Manaspure, Chief Public Relation Officer of Central Railway said, “The Vande Bharat trains have become popular and the proof is that all the four trains on the Central Railway routes of Solapur, Shirdi and even Mumbai-Goa are seeing good occupancy. The journeys are appreciated, with testimonies and acclaims from the passengers, and therefore, maintenance of these rakes is a big challenge. Thus, a new modern cleaning technology has been adopted.”
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