The year 2019 has been a memorable one for Western Railway’s Mumbai suburban section in many ways, as it bears witness to various remarkable development in diverse fields.
According to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, to strengthen the infrastructure under Western Railway’s Mumbai rail network, 24 new Foot Over Bridges (FOBs), a new subway, 16 new escalators and 3 new lifts were built in the current year.
The 69th Foundation Day of Western Railway was celebrated with great fervour on 5th November 2019, wherein, the state-of-the-art ‘UTTAM Rake’ was introduced & included in W. Rly’s fleet of local trains, for the better and enhanced travelling experience to Mumbaikars.
In a third-party audit and cleanliness survey conducted by Indian Railways, 6 stations of W. Rly’s Mumbai suburban section have found their way to the first top 10 positions in the SG category of stations. Andheri, Virar, Naigaon & Kandivali stations bagged the top four spots while Borivali & Santacruz secured 9th & 10th position respectively over Indian Railways.
The country’s first air-conditioned EMU train which was running five days a week has now started plying even on Saturdays and Sundays, with effect from 14th September this year. It is noteworthy that Western Railway, which holds the record credit for running the world’s first Ladies Special Local Train, currently delivers more than 35 lakh Mumbaikars to their floors daily through its 1367 services including 10 ladies special trains.
Western Railway has also installed and commissioned monumental tricolour flags at its nine A1 Class stations across the zonal railway, including 4 stations of Mumbai. The monumental flag masts of 100 ft. height has been commissioned at Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Andheri and Borivali stations in Mumbai.
The prime highlights of this year over W.Rly in Mumbai suburban section are as under:
Improvement in Suburban services:
– Air-conditioned services have been started on Saturdays & Sundays w.e.f 14th September 2019.
– The latest addition to the fleet of rakes is the state-of-the-art “UTTAM RAKE” with improved interiors and advanced features to make travelling in local a better experience for Mumbaikars. The first service of this modern rake was run on 5th November 2019 on the occasion of the 69th Foundation Day of W. Rly. The new rake was operated as Ladies Special train in its inaugural run from Churchgate – Virar, departing from Churchgate at 18.13 hrs and arriving Virar at 19.57 hrs.
Improvement in Ticketing system & Digital Initiatives:
– POS machines installed on all locations of UTS/PRS windows, Parcel offices and Goods sheds of Mumbai Division.
– “No bill No Payment” implemented on all catering units of Mumbai Division.
– Digital payment mode viz. POS machines, Paytm, BHIM, etc. enabled at all catering units.
Improvement in Infrastructural Development:
Foot Over Bridges, Lifts & Escalators on Mumbai Suburban Section
– Western Railway has commissioned 24 new Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) in the Mumbai suburban section taking the total to 119 FOBs.
– The new FOBs have been commissioned at Mahalaxmi, Santacruz, Malad, Lower Parel, Bandra, Mahim, Naigaon, Nalasopara, Virar, Marine lines, Prabhadevi, Matunga – Mahim, Khar, Vile Parle, Vile Parle – Andheri, Vasai Road – Nalasopara, Mumbai Central, Grant Road, Jogeshwari & Andheri stations during the year 2019.
– A new Subway commissioned at Vaitarna station in April 2019.
– For the convenience of passengers, especially for the Divyangs, Elderly & Senior Citizens, 16 Escalators & 3 Lifts have been provided in the Mumbai suburban section in this calendar year up to November 2019, taking the total to 48 Escalators & 23 Lifts in Mumbai suburban section.
– During the year 2019, Escalators have been provided at Malad (3 nos.), Santacruz (1 no.), Nalasopara (2 nos.), Khar Road (1 no.), Borivali (1 no.), Virar (2 nos.), Dahisar (1 no.), Mira Road (2 nos.), Jogeshwari (1 no.), Lower Parel (2 nos.) while lifts have been provided at Virar (1 no.) & Bhayander (2 nos.)
Improvement in Passenger Amenities & Conveniences:
– Braille indicators (for blind) installed in passenger interface areas of Borivali station (Platforms, Foot over Bridges (FOBs), subways, Entry & Exit, Booking office, Escalators and Lifts) for guidance to blind Passengers through CSR initiative.
– The signages on the exterior of all reserved coaches and safety/statutory stickers in the interior of trains have been revised with an increase in font size so that it is easily identifiable to reserved commuters. The work of distinctive identification of Divyangjan coaches completed in all rakes whereas the work of others has been completed in 41 rakes.
– Baby feeding centre provided at Palghar.
– Western Railway upgraded 37 conventional rakes of ICF trains under ‘Project Utkrisht’, most of which depart from Mumbai.
– Mumbai Division is committed towards the issue of unreserved tickets within five minutes and has come up with a dedicated complaint number 9004499990 with stickers and glow sign boards which have been provided at all booking locations.
– New booking office opened for passengers on Middle FOB east side at Virar, Saphale East & Vaitarna East.
– Booking and PRS shifted in a new building at Mira Road.
– Waiting room facility provided at Andheri station.
Green Carpet for Environment-Friendly Initiative:
– Mumbai Central division of W. Rly has installed 1183 KWp of Solar plants in this year, which has not only resulted in savings of electricity bill, but has also helped in receiving earnings for the surplus energy.
– Mumbai Central station has been accredited with ISO 14001:2015 certification.
– One Organic Waste Management Plant has been installed at Bandra Terminus
– 04 Bottle Crushing Machines installed at Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus & Andheri stations in the suburban section for effective segregation of plastic waste.
– Exclusive Plastic collecting dustbins installed at all Suburban stations, towards the eradication of Single use of plastic and for segregation of plastic waste. A Bottle shaped dustbin installed at Mumbai Central station.
– Western Railway has installed benches made of recycled plastic at Churchgate station platform. It is perhaps the 1st time that recycled plastic is used in a core passenger amenity on Indian Railway.
– Gandhiji Mural developed at Mumbai Central station on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
– Western Railway bagged three prestigious National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) in two categories for the year 2018-19 organised by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power. Western Railway was awarded the First Prize in the Transportation Category along with Second and Third in Institution Category for Energy Conservation measures adopted by Divisional Railway Manager’s offices at Rajkot and Bhavnagar respectively.
Cleanliness Initiatives:
– In a third-party audit and cleanliness survey conducted by Indian Railways, 6 stations of W. Rly’s Mumbai suburban section have found their way to the first top 10 positions in the SG category of stations. Andheri, Virar, Naigaon & Kandivali stations bagged the top four spots while Borivali & Santacruz secured 9th & 10th position respectively over Indian Railways.
– A four coach EMU rake, which includes Two Driving Trailer coaches & Two Motorcoaches, has been modified in-house by EMU workshop Mahalaxmi, as per the requirement of the engineering department, by removing seats, partitions, etc. This rake is being utilized to carry muck removal from the tracks. The rake has also been beautifully and aesthetically painted with cleanliness slogans and images to convey the message of ‘Swachh Rail – Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ which will enable passengers to easily distinguish this rake from others.
– Round the clock monitoring of cleanliness in toilets by staff dedicated Whatsapp and helpline number 9004499733
Safety & Security Measures:
– Western Railway has commissioned nine new Segways at five stations of its Mumbai suburban section, i.e. at Churchgate (2 nos.), Mumbai Central (2 nos.), Andheri (1 no.), Borivali (2 nos.) & Bandra Terminus (2 nos.) for RPF Security Personnel in order to enhance the security measures & in attending the grievances/complaints quickly and to increase the visible presence of uniformed personnel over Mumbai suburban section.
– The total sanctioned strength of RPF in Mumbai suburban has been strengthened to 1272, the present strength is 1088 including 82 women RPF staff. Additional 529 security personnel including 97 women MSF of Maharashtra state Security Corporation have been deployed to augment the security arrangements in Mumbai Suburban.
– High profile presence of RPF/GRP at all suburban stations is ensured to instil a sense of fear among the anti-social elements and also a sense of confidence to the rail passengers.
– Women RPF staff are deployed for escorting Local/Exp trains and other security duties.
– 10 Ladies special trains are being escorted by RPF lady staff on Mumbai suburban. Besides, 12 AC local trains are also escorted by lady RPF staff and all the ladies compartment of Local trains of the suburban section during the night from 21:00 hrs. to 06:00 hrs daily by lady GRP staff.
– CCTV has been provided in 45 rakes covering ladies coaches of EMU rakes.
– 1096 CCTV Cameras have been installed at important stations over W.Rly in the suburban section for surveillance. Maximum number of Coaches reserved for female passengers in Suburban services is covered by CCTV cameras at platforms/stations.
– Crime Prevention and Detection squad teams are effectively utilizing for an incognito watch at vulnerable places/trains.
– Four Biometric token machines with an 8-megapixel camera to make systematic & smooth entry in GS coaches of long-distance trains at originating stations viz. Mumbai Central & Bandra Terminus.
– 440 Walkie-Talkie set, 22 DFMD, 220 HHMD, 04 Baggage scanner, 22 Megaphone, 71 BP jacket, 58 BP helmet, 30 Body worm cameras are utilized to enhance safety & security in suburban section.
The outgoing year 2019 has proved to be a very productive year for Western Railway, as it has been full of various special achievements including improved passenger services & facilities as well as in terms of upgraded infrastructure for better future.
