By Shashank Rao |Posted 08-Apr-2016
While officials
say the money will go towards drought relief, activists slam move to monetise
farewell ride on Kurla-CST DC train on Saturday night
This weekend,
Central Railway will chuck its obsolete DC trains and ride the gravy train
instead. As the Harbour line finally bids goodbye (and good riddance) to its
1,500-volt Direct Current (DC) system, you can witness the end of an era that
had begun on this very line in 1925. For the princely sum of Rs 10,000, that
is.
CR may be
notorious for inconveniencing commuters with slow service and repeated
technical failures, but let none say it missed an opportunity to spin some
money. As the last old 9-car DC train rolls out of service on Saturday night,
the authorities will allow rail fans and other interested citizens to be part
of the historic moment for a cool Rs 10,000 per ticket. This will not only
cover the fare for the midnight journey on the rickety rake, but will also allow
the joyriders to sit in the comfort of the ticket counter (called Star Chamber)
and watch a live screening of the conversion to 25,000-volt Alternating Current
(AC) system over the course of the night.
DC trains like
this one will no longer ply after the Harbour line converts to the AC system
this weekend. The last 9-car train to run on Saturday night will be preserved
by CR. File pic
The last DC
local will depart from Kurla at 11.30 pm and will end its run at Chhatrapati
Shivaji Terminus (CST) at 12.15 am. Over the intervening night, the Harbour
line’s electrical system will be converted to the AC system — the last one to
do so in all of India. Sources said those who buy the tickets will also be
allowed to flag off the first train to run on the new system at 6 am, Sunday.
Song and dance
“People can board this last train anywhere between Kurla and CST. We have also
called for music bands that will play at the railway stations,” said SK Sood,
CR’s general manager. These bands will play at Kurla, Chunabhatti, GTB Nagar,
Wadala, Sewri, Cotton Green, Reay Road, Dockyard, Sandhurst, Masjid and CST.
The sale of tickets is being handled by JJ School of Arts.
However,
passenger associations are miffed by this decision. “The railways are making
this into pure business, which is totally wrong. It is an eventful night and
instead of selling tickets at such high rates, they should allow the thousands
of people who might want to bid farewell to the last DC rake system in India,”
said Subhash Gupta, president of Rail Yatri Parishad, and member of the Zonal
Rail Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC).
“Everyone
should be allowed to see it for free, if they are interested. This is a foolish
decision and railways are trying to make business out of anything and everything.
Not everything should be charged,” said Madhu Kotian, president of Mumbai Rail
Pravasi Sangh and ZRUCC member.
CR chief Sood,
however, said the ticket collections will go to help drought-affected areas in
Maharashtra.
Betterment
ahead
The DC system took birth on February 3, 1925, on the Harbour line itself, and
it is here that it will end its run. This will open up greater scope for the
improvement of services to cater to the 12 lakh commuters on the Harbour and
Trans-Harbour lines. CR is in the process of demanding four rakes each for the
two sections, which would drastically boost its carrying capacity. There are 20
rakes available for CR and WR, which need to write in their demand and send it
to the Railway Board.
Sources said
that CR will ask for four rakes on Harbour line and four on the Trans-harbour
very soon. Each rake will carry out 12-15 services per day, which would result
in more services between CST-Panvel and Thane-Panvel. “We are currently making
plans for the same and working out the precise routes where these rakes are
needed,” said a CR official.
At present
there are 10 lakh people who use the Harbour line and another 2 lakh on the
Trans-harbour line every day. With the proposed Navi Mumbai airport coming up,
there is a need to improve and increase the train services. However, CR and
MRVC, have been unable to maintain their deadline for the conversion from 9
cars to 12-car services between CST-Panvel. Sources said they have now realised
that the number of coaches are more than sufficient for this purpose, but their
targets for parking these rakes haven’t been met. If additional parking lines,
stabling lines and work on platforms are not all completed by April, then there
could be lot of issues ahead.
Making history
>> All nine coaches of the DC rake will be preserved by the railways and
locations have been identified
>> They will be parked at P D’Mello road siding at CST, Wadi Bunder,
Thane and the National Rail Museum in Delhi
>> Rail fans participating in the event after paying R10,000 can avail of
models of these DC coaches at a token price
>> Video recording shall be done of the entire power upgradation that
will be played inside the preserved DC coaches for the next 10 years
11.30 pm
The time at which the last DC local will depart from Kurla on Saturday night,
arriving at CST at 12.15 am
05:36
