The Konkan Railway sought Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ intervention to deal with the issue of power grid failures of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) so that no train gets stranded inside tunnels
A tower wagon, used in emergencies, by the Konkan Railway. Pic/Konkan Railway
The Konkan Railway sought Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ intervention to deal with the issue of power grid failures of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) so that no train gets stranded inside tunnels and a back-up power supply is handy during the monsoon to keep trains moving.
“We appealed for the chief minister’s intervention to avoid MSEDCL failures during the monsoon because we have so many long tunnels, and now that there are no diesel engines, in case of any such failure, electric trains will come to a standstill. The chief minister has taken it up quite seriously and issued directives to avoid any such failures and have standby power supply to keep trains running. We are in constant touch with the MSEDCL teams,” said Konkan Railway Chairman and Managing Director, Santosh Kumar Jha, explaining Konkan Railway’s elaborate monsoon preparation plans.
Jha added that there will also be a diesel loco stationed every 250 km, to be pressed into service in case of any electrical failures.
“The state electricity boards have been informed to provide advance alerts and back-up supply from Transformer Sub Stations (TSS). As emergency response, seven tower wagons with equipment and 15-20-member teams have been positioned every 100 km (i.e., at Mangaon, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Kankavali, Karmali, Karwar and Udupi) for quick response,” he said.
According to Jha, Rail Maintenance Vehicles (RMVs) have also been stationed at nine key locations — Veer, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Rajapur Road, Kudal, Verna, Karwar, Bhatkal, and Udupi. “Emergency Communication (EMC) sockets have been installed every 1 km for immediate contact between patrolmen, watchmen, loco pilots, guards and other field maintenance staff with control offices during emergencies,” he said.
MSEDCL denies failures
Rubbishing the allegations, Chairman and Managing Director of MSEDCL, Lokesh Chandra said, “There is even not a single incident where such an issue has come to our notice. Unfortunately, Konkan Railway is misinformed, as traction supply is at Extra High Voltage (EHV) level. Also, the Konkan Railway is responsible for maintaining its power network and MSEDCL has no role to play.”
250 M
Distance between diesel locos stationed for emergencies
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