05 November,2020 07:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B Aklekar
Photo for representational purpose
A commuter poll conducted by social media handle Roads of Mumbai (RoM) on Twitter has revealed that people prefer closed-door local trains and BEST buses as a safety measure to keep crowds under check. The #RoMPoll conducted over five days - October 30 to November 3 - received 646 votes. About 81 per cent of the total votes are in favour of trains and buses with the door-closing facility. Only about 18 commuters voted in favour of open-door trains.
A senior railway official said that the new AC local trains have the door-closing facility and the railways, as a part of the larger plan, intends to eventually convert the entire fleet into AC locals over the next couple of years. However, a study conducted on the feasibility of closed-door locals revealed that high carbon-dioxide levels inside the trains would cause suffocation.
"In fact in January this year the Western Railway (WR) conducted trials of closed-door trains. The mechanism was fitted in a normal non-AC train and trials were undertaken. This helped list problems that are likely to be faced during actual operations," an official said.
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"Suffocation and delay were two primary problems that came to the fore in the four-day trial between Churchgate and Virar. The report submitted by the railways stated there were two major factors - high carbon-dioxide levels inside closed-door coaches due to lack of ventilation and delay at every station," he added.
The report also states that on an average time at every station would increase by 25-30 seconds. Given this calculation, the schedule of the trains might get affected if the facility is introduced. The report also said, "Train lights had to be switched on during non-peak hours due to considerable reduction in brightness after doors were closed."
The WR's 15-car train project is set to be complete in a month and the carrying capacity of locals would increase by about 25 per cent once it is operational by next year. "All stations along the slow corridor on the Andheri-Virar section will have 15-car platforms to accommodate the longer trains by year-end as work is in the final phase," a senior official said. Sanctioned in 2017-18, the R59.56-crore project includes work on about 27 platforms of 14 stations between Andheri and Virar.
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