Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 18 : To fulfil the growing requirements of suburban passengers, Eastern Railway is preparing to run Air Conditioned Electric Multiple Unit (AC EMU) locals soon, Eastern Railway said in a press release.
One such AC EMU train constructed in the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, has already arrived in the Eastern Railway and has been sent to Sealdah Division for testing & trial run. Another AC EMU rake will also shortly arrive in the Eastern Railway jurisdiction.
On the basis of the present utilisation pattern, it has been decided that the new AC EMU train that is sent to Sealdah Division will run on the Sealdah - Ranaghat route. The Indian Railways has rationalised the fare of AC EMU Suburban train services to bring it to the affordable limit of the commuters. The single journey suburban base fare of AC EMU trains will be only Rs 29 for a journey upto 10 km & base fare of Rs 37 for journey distance between 11 km to 15 km, and so on. Charges for corresponding monthly season ticket (MST) will be Rs 590 and Rs 780, respectively, and so on.
The salient technical features of these AC EMU rakes are as follows:
"All the coaches of these trains will be fully Air-Conditioned. The coaches are made of Stainless steel bodies with straight side walls. All the 12 coaches of the rake are end-to-end connected by sealed wider vestibule gangways. The coaches have been provided with better air circulation inside the coaches to give the feeling of freshness. It has more standing space and includes a vestibule area. Passengers can also travel inside the train from one coach to another easily through vestibules," the press release said.
All the AC EMU coaches have 04 electrically operated double-leaf automatic sliding doors on each side. The coaches have wide and large double-sealed glass windows providing a panoramic view. 3 seater stainless steel seats are provided in all the coaches. The total seating capacity of the rake is approximately 1100. All the coaches are covered by CCTV surveillance. Wear-resistant rubber floor top, Aluminium extruded modular luggage rack & GPS-based LED displays for passenger information and announcement system are provided in each coach of the rake to enhance passenger amenity and comfort.
The doors of the train will open only after arriving at stations and will close before departing from the stations and remain closed while on run for safety reasons. The control of the door will remain with the Driver/Guard, who will operate the doors of the train compartments.
The new AC EMU trains, which arrive in the Sealdah Division, will surely satisfy the expectations of the passengers and initiate a new era of a cosy journey experience at a very affordable price.