RailEnquiry

By the end of this month,
thousands of commuters who
travel to Dahanu regularly can
hop on to a direct suburban train
from Churchgate, doing away
with the time and inconvenience
of switching trains at Virar.
The 60-km Churchgate-Virar
suburban corridor will be
extended till the
coastal town of Dahanu, making
the stretch a total of 124 km.
The Western Railways, which is
planning 25 services to Dahanu,
began conducting safety trials on
the route on Saturday. During the
trial run, safety parameters
relating to tracks, overhead
equipment, coaches and other
operational details are checked.
“This will ensure safety of
passengers,” said Sharat
Chandrayan, chief PRO, WR.
Extending suburban services to
the coastal town, which falls
under the Thane district, has
been a long-pending demand of
commuters and was promised in
the 2012-13 railway budget.
To familiarise motormen and
guards with the route, WR began
training them last week with
signals and other aspects of the
stretch.
Currently, passengers travelling
to Dahanu have to switch to
main line electric multiple unit
(MEMU) or passenger trains at
Virar. Of the new services, 13 will
replace 18 existing MEMU trains,
while two will replace passenger
trains between Mumbai Central
and Dahanu. There will be 10
additional services.
The plan to extend services till
Dahanu had caused unrest
among motormen owing to
rumours that WR would engage
loco pilots for services beyond
Virar. WR sorted out the issue by
clarifying that services would be
run by motormen.