Travellers have tough Sunday as WR switches to AC power

Commuters between downtown Mumbai and its western suburbs have experienced a faster ride today, as the railway stopped services for almost six hours on Sunday to convert its power lines from DC to AC.

The conversion of overhead traction from 1,500 volts DC to 25,000 volts AC on Western Railway's entire suburban section is not only to help speed up the trains but also reduce maintenance requirements.

Although the conversion work was completed well within schedule – at 3:45pm rather than 4:30pm as announced by WR earlier – the stoppage caused considerable disruption and difficulty to numerous Sunday travellers as train services on both the Western and Harbour lines between Andheri and Churchgate/Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus were shut down.

While railway officials claimed there was minimal inconvenience to commuters, platforms were seen to be packed with commuters as well as outstation passengers unable to find connecting trains. The eight special diesel locomotives operated by WR during the stoppage were crowded to weekday peak-hour capacity.

The situation was reported to be even worse on the roads, with jams at many places like Parel, Bandra, Byculla, Santa Cruz, Kurla, Nagpada and Jogeshwari. People who had to attend office on Sunday said they took thrice the normal time to get there.

The extra buses plied by the BEST fell woefully short as travellers chose road transport. Taxis and auto-rickshaws had a field day fleecing customers, charging in multiples of the official fares.

A WR spokesperson said, ''Nothing can replace railway commuting in Mumbai and we did our best to help commuters. The crowd was less today as compared to other days because of the wide publicity given to the event. Many people did not step out of their homes. The railway ran special double-decker trains to ease pressure.

''But this shift was essential for the long run. Trains will now not just be faster, but will also save power.''