Mumbai's first non-airconditioned closing-door local train reached Kurla car shed on Monday, April 13, a huge milestone in the city's suburban railway upgrade plan for safe travelling. The new EMU is introduced to avoid accidents caused by overcrowding.
The automatic close-door system was designed by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai after Mumbra incident. This is the first non-AC door-closing local train developed for Mumbai’s suburban network and for Indian Railways.
Non-AC Automatic Door-Closing Local Train Features
The non-AC automatic door-closing local train was developed with several upgraded infrastructure features. The train has similar segregated compartments for male, female, first class, luggage and people with disabilities. While the train is now equipped with BEST Bus-like sliding window doors with larger frames than before. forced ventilation, more leg space in front. The luggage compartments are bigger than before.
Also Read | Mumbai Local Train News: City To Get India’s First Non-AC ‘Closed-Door’ Local.
The train is divided into six coaches connected by vestibules. It has internal partitions to clearly separate ladies, first class and general compartments.
The coaches are designed on an AC EMU shell but are configured to maintain class segregation, including first class (with cushioned seating), ladies' compartments, and accessible sections.
Difficulties Likely
There will be a delay in train timing during peak hours due to the automatic door losing and opening system mechanism. According to Mid-Day, the coach alignments of the new design EMU differ from those of existing trains.
Passenger Comfort
Train equipped with wider sliding windows measuring 1,900 mm, while the current train has 900 mm. Each coach is equipped with two high-capacity blowers, each supplying 10,000 cubic metres of air per hour, according to Mid-Day.