Mangaluru Central Railway Station gears up to receive Vande Bharat trains

Amid rumours that a Vande Bharat train will commence operations soon from Mangaluru, the Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division has geared up to maintain Vande Bharat rakes by providing overhead electrical equipment (OHE) at one of its three pit lines in Mangaluru Central Railway Station.

Amid rumours that a Vande Bharat train will commence operations soon from Mangaluru, the Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division has geared up to maintain Vande Bharat rakes by providing overhead electrical equipment (OHE) at one of its three pit lines in Mangaluru Central Railway Station.

OHEs are normally not provided at pit lines where train rakes are brought for primary maintenance, including thorough washing, mechanical and electrical inspection, and repair and such other major works. They are hauled onto and out of pit lines by diesel locomotives. Electric traction is not used at pit lines to avoid any possible electrical mishap as water is used for washing coaches.

Mangaluru Central at present has three pit lines, two old, and one newly constructed. The first pit line from Attavar (second) entry side, one of the two old, is equipped with OHE for Vande Bharat maintenance purpose.

Though Vande Bharat rakes could be hauled on to pit lines by diesel locomotives, the motor car’s nose has to be removed to facilitate coupling of the loco with the rake consuming about an hour. Therefore, the railways decided to provide OHE line at the pit line. Whenever a Vande Bharat rake is brought for maintenance, the power supply to the OHE will be disconnected, said an officer.

The Palakkad division had a couple of months ago invited tenders for providing Vande Bharat maintenance facility at Central at an estimated cost of ₹60 lakh. This also includes construction of a major maintenance unit for Vande Bharat rakes near the Carriage and Wagon Depot’s old office where four Vande Bharat cars (one eight car Vande Bharat rake consists four cars each) can undergo major maintenance at a time.

The C&W Depot is now equipped to handle three kinds of rakes, LHB, ICF, and Vande Bharat.

Sources in the Southern Railway headquarters told The Hindu that the Railway Board has allotted three Vande Bharat rakes to the zone in August last week, the latest being on August 29. Their deployment depends upon the board’s approval.