Coming soon: 22 coaches on long-distance CR trains

Extra coaches to be added to accommodate at least 300 more passengers, destination points of many to be shifted to LTT; some netas oppose move

Coming soon: 22 coaches on long-distance CR trains

More coaches and not additional trains is Central Railway’s chosen ticket to rescuing cramped commuters.

From next month several long-distance CR trains will have extra bogies, and thus would be able to accommodate more travellers. However, many politicians are resisting this move.

On track: After adding the extra coaches to trains, many of them will be shifted to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), as the platforms there are more extensive. File pic

According to railway authorities, about 40 trains on different routes will have 22 coaches apiece. However, there are several trains that currently have 13 bogies; CR will add 7 coaches to each.

“We have been trying hard to put additional trains on long-distance routes. But as the stations are already saturated this cannot be done. We are adding extra coaches to many trains, which will be able to accommodate about 350 more passengers per train,” said a senior official from CR. Generally a bogie has 72 seats. If a train gets 5 additional coaches, then it will have room for 360 more commuters.

After adding the extra coaches to trains, many of them will be shifted to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), as the platforms here are more extensive.

CST and Dadar stations are already burdened. But after CR’s plans became known, Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam sent a letter to railway authorities demanding the Dadar-Varanasi train not be shifted to LTT.

“I have written to CR asking them to change their decision of moving the Dadar-Varanasi train to LTT. A lot of commuters will face difficulties if this happens. However, I will again speak to CR authorities and find out what precisely their plan of action is,” Nirupam told MiD DAY.

AK Singh, Public Relations Officer, Central Railway, said, “We are adding extra bogies to many trains and will also be shifting the departure points of some from Dadar to LTT. But some political leaders are opposing this plan. We have no space at Dadar and CST as these stations are already overburdened. ”u00a0

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