Approval awaited for prototype of AC rake

Railway officials here are hoping that their plan to run air-conditioned locals will soon get a boost. They had recently asked railway minister Dinesh Trivedi for his approval to manufacture a prototype of an air-conditioned rake to carry out trial runs. During his visit to Mumbai earlier this month, the minister had told mediapersons that the railways is keen on running such services on suburban sector.He had, however, refused to elaborate further.
The concept of air-conditioned locals, which found a mention in the 2007 budget speech of then railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, has again gained currency after the successful conversion of traction from 1500 V DC to 25000 V AC on Western Railway. AC traction is conducive to run such services since rakes have regenerative braking that can save 33% energy.
Railway Board officials said efforts are on to introduce air-conditioned rakes in Mumbai. Once the plan is approved, the railway board may ask Bharat Earth Mover Ltd (BEML), Bangalore, or Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, to first manufacture one such rake.
Plans of getting air-conditioned coaches have been around for a long time. About 10 years ago, WR had added the facility to a section of a coach at its Mahalaxmi workshop at an additional cost of Rs 17 lakh. However, the plan was abandoned since WR failed to get the requisite permissions.
For the last one year, the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) has had ready a blueprint of AC trains for Mumbai’s suburban network. There has, however, been no progress due to lack of interest from MRVC, CR and WR.
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