Western Railway increases speed of Bombardier rakes on slow tracks

Bombardier rakes can now run at the top speed of 90 km per hour on slow tracks between Mumbai Central and Borivali stations, a Western Railway official said on December 24.

Earlier, the speed of local trains plying on slow tracks was restricted to 70 kmph while the maximum speed on fast tracks is 100 kmph.

The Bombardier locals, which are mainly procured under the second phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP- 2), will also ply at the speed of 70 kmph on Harbour line tracks between Mahim and Andheri stations.

The Bombardier rakes were introduced in public service by Western Railway in July, 2015.

Currently plying on both the western and central lines of the Mumbai railway suburban system, these trains have already got thumbs-up from commuters as they have comfortable seats, spacious passages and good ventilation.

"Augmenting the speed of Bombardier locals will improve the punctuality of the suburban services on WR. Increased speed will help in improving punctuality," said Ravidner Bhakar, Chief PRO, WR.

The WR daily operates over 1300 suburban services with a ridership of more than 35 lakh passengers.