IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 1221 - 1240
From: S Pai <Pai>>
Subject: steam trains
Date: 26 Jul 1994 18:12:00 -0500
Steam engines will not be gone before the end of the century. An article in
"The Statesman" (Calcutta / international edition) of July 2 says that the
Railway Ministry has decided that steam engines will keep operating on the
Darjeeling and Nilgiri sections till after 2000.
Earlier, the date set for scrapping these engines was March 1997, advanced
from a yet earlier deadline of 2000.
For steam engines that have been removed from service, the government has also
decided to make things easier for prospective buyers (Indian or foreign) to
negotiate directly with the Railway Board, instead of having to go through
middlemen and railway auctions. One steam engine has already been bought by
someone and shipped to England. The government expects that a lot of people
from outside India will be interested in the engines. They expect to get
between Rs 800,000 and Rs 1,200,000 for each engine.
The rest of the article had something about how the locomotive from the
Darjeeling "toy train" had been repainted and installed in the museum at
Rail Bhavan and how the bureaucracy imposed a ban on taking photographs
of it, until some rail fans complained directly to Jaffer Sharief who
then took action to reverse the ban. :-)
-Satish
From: dheeraj at iitk.ernet.in <THS1@PSUVM.EMAIL
Subject: Re: New Lines and Bombay
Date: 26 Jul 1994 19:09:00 -0500
>One thing I don't understand is if they can have a 2-minute service
>in suburban Bombay with just 4 tracks along with long-distance traffic
>and goods traffic, why they can't have a 15-minute service on 4 tracks
>in Delhi.
This probably has to do with the traffic mix and different traffic
streams interfering at junctions. In Bombay, a pair of tracks on
both CR and WR are dedicated to running EMU trains. Another pair
of tracks are shared by long-distance trains and limited stop EMU
trains (fast trains). To a large extent, these traffic streams
are kept separate. [If CR is still running Thana locals via
Harbour branch, then there is some interference on that score
between CR through lines and Harbour branch]. Moreover, slow
moving long distance trains (classified as Passengers) are almost
banished from Bombay vicinity. I think that at Delhi, the traffic
across the New Yamuna Bridge interferes severely with the
Tughlakabad - Nizamuddin - New Delhi - Delhi Main stream. This
I feel explains why throughput achievable at Delhi is less.
T.H.Sanyal.
From: S Pai <Pai>>
Subject: Re: New Lines and Bombay
Date: 26 Jul 1994 20:16:00 -0500
>> This probably has to do with the traffic mix and different traffic streams
>> interfering at junctions. In Bombay, a pair of tracks on both CR and WR are
>> dedicated to running EMU trains. Another pair of tracks are shared by
>> long-distance trains and limited stop EMU trains (fast trains).
Could some kind persons post some details about the routes and tracks, and
their junctions and bypasses etc. for suburban and long-distance trains in and
around the bigger cities? I have only a sketchy idea of these things for
Bombay and Bangalore, and to some extent for Delhi, and I'd appreciate getting
some more information about these and other big cities.
Thanks,
-Satish
From: Dheeraj Sanghi <dheeraj@iitk.email
Subject: Re: steam trains
Date: 27 Jul 1994 19:30:00 -0500
> Steam engines will not be gone before the end of the century. An article
> in "The Statesman" (Calcutta / international edition) of July 2 says
> that the Railway Ministry has decided that steam engines will keep
> operating on the Darjeeling and Nilgiri sections till after 2000.
My understanding is that there are no plans at all to phase out
steam locos from Toy-trains. Steam locos are only being phased out
from BG and MG tracks.
> Earlier, the date set for scrapping these engines was March 1997, advanced
> from a yet earlier deadline of 2000.
-dheeraj
From: S. Kumar <kumar@quandsn.email
Subject: Suburban systems in cities
Date: 28 Jul 1994 17:22:00 -0500
In response to Satish's request here is some info about the suburban
setup in Madras.
There are three trunk routes radiating out of Madras:
1) The Madras Central - Gudur- Howrah/Delhi/S'bad Northbound BG line.
2) The Madras Central - Arakkonam- Bombay/B'lore/M'lore/Trivandrum
Westbound BG line.
3) The Madras Beach/Madras Egmore - Trichy/Rameswaram Southbound MG
line.
On (1) EMU's run till Gummidipundi, on (2) till Trivellore
(occasionally to Arakkonam) and on (3) till Tambaram (with some
service south of Tambaram to Chingleput).
(3) has the oldest and most established EMU service; it is the only
EMU service on MG in India. Train frequencies range from 5-7 minutes
during peak hours to 15-30 minutes during off-peak hours and run from
4 am to about 11 pm. The trains leave Madras Beach station and
connect to Madras Park (right across the road from Madras Central),
Egmore (the MG long distance terminus), residential areas like
Kodambakkam and Mambalam, Guindy, Minambakkam/Thirusulam (Madras
Airport), and the suburban towns of Pallavaram, Chromepet and
Tambaram, a total run of about 25 km. There are two sets of tracks
dedicated to the suburban service which parallel a third track from
Egmore for long distance trains. There are no junctions (Beach
station has both BG and MG tracks) till Chinglepet (57 kms away)
where the MG line from Arakkonam and Kanchipuram joins the main line.
This section is now being converted to BG.
(2) In the last year or two this route has been converted to 4-track
from the existing 2-track upto Trivellore; presumably to dedicate one
pair to local trains. EMU's run from Madras Central (Suburban) to
Avadi/Trivellore (25-30 km) and sometimes make it to Arakkonam (60
odd kms). Frequency is 15-20 minutes during peak hours and 30-45
minutes during other times. In my opinion the EMU's until now have
played a secondary role to the excellent bus service along this
heavily industrial corridor connecting Perambur (Integral Coach
Factory), Korattur/Padi (TVS), Ambattur (establishments such as TI
cycles) and Avadi (Tank Factory). There is an occasional train to
and from Madras Beach via the Vyasarpadi Jn/bypass east of Perambur.
(1) This has the least frequent EMU service with the frequencies
varying from 30 -60 minutes. Again like (2) the Madras bus system
has played some role in inhibiting EMU frequency with
frequent express buses to Ennore and beyond. The bus system is
showing signs of getting overloaded and this may improve EMU
frequencies in (2) and (3). Trains originate from Madras Central and
proceed via industrial North Madras past Ennore (Ashok Leyland and
the nearby Madras Refineries) travelling right along the coast into
the suburbs of Ponneri and Gummidipundi. (1) and (2) split at Basin
Bridge junction and the 1-2 km section from Basin Bridge to Madras
Central is a big bottleneck.
None of the lines really serve the heavily residential South Coastal
Madras since the MG line travels south west rather than south in the
Madras area. There is a proposal to link Madras Beach to
Thiruvanmiyur via Triplicane, Luz/Mylapore, and Adyar. Also the
sprawling suburb of Anna Nagar has no rail service. There is a spur
from line (2) ending just northwest of Anna Nagar which if improved
could provide train service.
Kumar
From: Dheeraj Sanghi <dheeraj@iitk.email
Subject: palace on wheel tariffs for the coming year.
Date: 06 Aug 1994 00:28:00 -0500
All tarrifs are per person per night.
These are twin-bedded cabins.
Off-season Season
Sep '94 Oct'94 - Jan '95
Single occupancy US$ 263 US$ 350
Double occupancy US$ 150 US$ 200
Triple occupancy US$ 132 US$ 175
Half fare for children 5-12. Tariff includes travel, catering,
and sightseeing. Indians can pay in Rupees.
Places they visit:
Jaipur - Chittorgarh - Udaipur - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Bikaner
Bikaner has been added this year only.
Jointly operated by Indian Railways and Rajasthan Tourism.
(From an advt. in India Today.)
-dheeraj
PS: For a 2-week trip in season, a couple will have to fork out
US$ 5,600, that is, almost 2 lakhs rupees.
From: Pushkar Apte <apte@spdc.email
Subject: Rail Cruise
Date: 05 Aug 1994 07:57:00 -0500
Dheeraj writes:
> Off-season Season
> Sep '94 Oct'94 - Jan '95
>
> Single occupancy US$ 263 US$ 350
> Double occupancy US$ 150 US$ 200
> Triple occupancy US$ 132 US$ 175
>
> Places they visit:
> Jaipur - Chittorgarh - Udaipur - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur - Bikaner
>
> PS: For a 2-week trip in season, a couple will have to fork out
> US$ 5,600, that is, almost 2 lakhs rupees.
That sounds a little stiff! but I guess it is not much different from
the Cruise packages available in the U.S. For a real nice cabin on a
Carribbean/Alaskan Cruise, you have to fork out $3000 or so (per
person) for a week. So $5600 for 2 for two weeks doesn't sound to
bad. But Rs. 2 Lakh is bad, period!
My problem with this Palace-on-wheels concept is that it stinks too
much of the Raj, with "natives" running around doing your bidding, etc.
Maybe I've read too much into the articles about this
Palace-on-wheels, or maybe I'm just lacking blue blood :-)
Has anyone on this mailing list travelled on any version of
Palace-on-wheels? If so, please post your experience.
Regards,
Pushkar
-------
From: S Pai <Pai>>
Subject: some news tidbits
Date: 14 Aug 1994 19:03:00 -0500
[Really quiet here on this mailing list these days. The many new members who
joined recently -- how about some contributions? :-) ]
These are a few news tidbits I picked up over the last few days:
1. Konkan Railway: The Konkan Rly. Corporation is planning to raise about
4.5 billion rupees, partly through a bond issue. Last year they raised
about 3.4 billion rupees. They now say that the project will be completed
by mid-1995.
Some automatic sleeper-laying machines have been loaned (or perhaps granted)
by the Australian government to KRC for speedier construction of the line.
2. The Amritsar -- New Delhi Shatabdi discussed here earlier has been
inaugurated (on Aug. 12, by CKJS) and is presumably now in regular service.
3. Railway insurance scheme: All passengers using IR are now insured against
death or injury due to arson, terrorist acts, armed robbery, etc. up to an
amount of Rs. 200,000. The coverage is good for all the time that one is on
IR premises with a valid journey ticket or platform ticket until the journey
is completed.
In other news I read that the success (read, high revenues) of IR's "Palace
on Wheels" has persuaded the Vietnam Railways and other railways in the
south-east Asian region to promote luxury rail travel for tourists. A luxury
rail journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh city is on the cards, and perhaps later
cross-border travel into China to Kunming.
Lastly, I have a question, for anyone who has been following news about IR --
what is the current status of the locomotive purchase / tech transfer deal
with ABB or some other firm? Have they actually got any new locos under this
plan? (If so, what is the class designation, what are the specs, where are
they being used, etc.?)
Regards,
-Satish
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbalasub@mail.email
Subject: Info. from July 1994 Western Rly. time-table.
Date: 14 Aug 1994 18:57:00 -0500
Hi folks,
I'm back after an eventful month-long trip from Boston to New Orleans via
the Midwest. I did meet Pushkar in Dallas. Although I parked at his place
for only a couple of nights, we did a lot of "catching-up" on topics such as
fantasy trains, the continued onslaught on Bombay-based trains, etc. And,
then there were the 7 hours worth of train videos.
From the newspaper clipping about the Bombay Shatabdi Exp. (that Pushkar
got from India), I learnt that the train is hauled by two WDM2 locos and has
11 2nd class chair cars plus one executive first class chair car. So, the
total no. of coaches should be 14 or 15, depending on whether there is a
separate pantry car. The coaches (and loco) seem to have the exact color
combination as the Rajdhani Exps. - cream and red, unlike the Bhopal, Lucknow
and Kalka Shatabdis - cream and blue.
A friend, recently, got me the July 1994 Western and Central Rly.
time-tables as well as the Trains At A Glance. I'll start-off by posting some
stuff from the Western Rly. time-table.
New Trains
----------
1. 2009/2010 Bombay Central - Ahmedabad Shatabdi Exp. The exasperating halt
at Bharuch has increased the run-time by 5 mts. in both the directions.
The revised timings are:
6 25 d Bombay Central a 21 15
6 58 a Borivali d 20 27
7 01 d a 20 24
9 46 a Surat d 17 45
9 51 d a 17 40
10 28 a Bharuch d 16 57
10 30 d a 16 55
11 20 a Vadodara d 16 12
11 25 d a 16 07
13 10 a Ahmedabad d 14 30
The commercial speed is, now, 72.88 kmph.
Quotas at various stations are:
Surat - 67 AC Chair Car seats (towards Ahmedabad)
30 ( Bombay)
Bharuch - 10 (both directions)
Vadodara - 30 (towards A'bad)
40 (towards Bombay)
- Weekly Okha - Puri exp.
Halts: Dwarka, Jamnagar, Hapa, Rajkot, Viramgam, Ahmedabad, Vadodara,
Surat, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Akola, Badnera, Wardha, .....
Not a very fast train despite the less no. of halts. In fact, it takes about
the same time as the Saurashtra Mail from Ahmedabad to Okha although the
latter has a many more halts.
That's all for now. More later from the time-table.
Regards,
Vijay
From: S Pai <Pai>>
Subject: forwarded message
Date: 15 Aug 1994 14:39:00 -0500
------- Start of forwarded message -------
From: muzzy@casbah.email (Sanjoy Majumder)
Subject: Re: some news tidbits
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 13:14:29 -0500 (CDT)
> In other news I read that the success (read, high revenues) of IR's "Palace
> on Wheels" has persuaded the Vietnam Railways and other railways in the
> south-east Asian region to promote luxury rail travel for tourists. A luxury
> rail journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh city is on the cards, and perhaps
> later cross-border travel into China to Kunming.
IR has also launched plans for similar trains in the south (a temple-town
tour) and east (I think a Buddha trail targetted at the Japanese tourist).
Apparently they have received a lot of bids from the hotel groups, ie. Taj,
Oberoi etc.
> Lastly, I have a question, for anyone who has been following news about IR --
> what is the current status of the locomotive purchase / tech transfer deal
> with ABB or some other firm? Have they actually got any new locos under this
> plan? (If so, what is the class designation, what are the specs, where are
> they being used, etc.?)
The deal is on and the first loco should be delivered to IR sometime around
December. Unfortunately I don't know the tech details...
> Regards,
>
> -Satish
On the tidbit front, the Rajdhani express has started serving mineral water
in place of regular water to all passengers.
Sanjoy>
------- End of forwarded message -------
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbalasub@mail.email
Subject: More from the Western Rly. time-table!
Date: 16 Aug 1994 11:20:00 -0500
Hi Folks,
Continuing from where I left off....
New Trains
----------
- Jaipur - Sealdah Exp. -> re-routed version of the Delhi - Sealdah Exp.
Halts:- Durgapura (towards Jaipur only), Sawai Madhopur, Bayana,
Idgah Agra, Agra Fort, ........
Extensions
----------
Bombay - Durgapura Exp. has been extended till Jaipur, since Durgapura -
Jaipur is now BG. It halts at Durgapura in both the directions. The good
news is that the run-times remain unchanged despite an additional 7 kms.
from D'pura to Jaipur, and two new halts at Ramganj Mandi and Bhawani Mandi.
Keep it up!
Ironically, Durgapura was a small station before the conversion of Sawai
Madhopur - Jaipur, with a couple of passenger trains acknowledging it.
Re-routings
-----------
The time-table has no information on the Jaipur - Bandikui - Alwar - Rewari
section. Wonder what's happening there!
- The Ashram and Mandor Exps. go via the Phulera - Ringus - Rewari chord,
with a 5 mt. halt at Ringus. Surprisingly, no change in run-times.
- Rest of the trains such as the Pink City Exp., Delhi Mail, Delhi Exp.,
Jodhpur Mail, and Chetak Exp. go via Jaipur - Ringus - Rewari.
Halts:- Pink City Exp. at Ringus
Delhi Mail at Ringus, Narnaul, Dahar-Ka-Balaji(Up. only)
Chetak Exp. at Ringus, Narnaul, Shri Madhopur, D-K-B (Up. only)
-Info. on the Jodhpur Mail is incomplete. It goes via Ajmer - Phulera - Ringus
- Rewari, but is not indicated in the Ajmer - Marwar section. It's as if
the train disappears into thin air at Ajmer!!!!
- All of the above train terminate at Delhi Sarai Rohilla.
Increased halts
---------------
- August Kranti Rajdhani Exp. at Bharuch (2 mts.) and Mathura (2 mts.). IR
has started messing around with this beauty. Run-times remain unchanged.
- Bombay - Jaipur Exp. at Ramganj Mandi and Bhawani Mandi.
- Nizamuddin - Indore Exp. at Shamgarh and Bhawani Mandi.
- Kutch Exp. at Vapi and Navsari (experimental)
- Awantika Exp. at Valsad and Ankleswar (experimental)
- Firozpur Janata Exp. at Samlaya (experimental)
- Avadh Exp. at Dakaniya Talav
- Dehra Dun Exp. at Dakaniya Talav and Malarna
Other changes
-------------
- Rajdhani and A.K. Rajdhani Exps. have AC 3-tier service, in addition to
1st AC, 2nd AC, and AC Chair Car. Fares for AC 3-tier are about 25% more than
those for AC Chair Car.
- 2925 Dn. Paschim Exp. has been speeded up by 25 mts.
- Most of the Bombay bound trains have been speeded up by 10 mts. between
Mathura and Kota, but correspondingly slowed down between Kota and Ratlam.
As a result, they arrive at / depart from Kota 10 mts. earlier.
e.g. the 2954 Up. Rajdhani Exp. has arr. and dep. times of 8.45 pm and
8.55 pm., respectively, at Kota.
Regards,
Vijay
From: venkatar <venkatar@egr.email
Subject: Re: some news tidbits
Date: 18 Aug 1994 07:10:00 -0500
Sanjoy Majumder writes
> what is the current status of the locomotive purchase / tech transfer deal
> with ABB or some other firm? Have they actually got any new locos under this
> plan? (If so, what is the class designation, what are the specs, where are
> they being used, etc.?)
The prototypes from ABB were classified as WAG6A. The others from Hitachi-
Sumitomo-BHEL were called WAG6B and WAG6C (the Bo-Bo-Bo and Co-Co respectively ). The ABB loco is Bo-Bo-Bo A/C three phase 4475kW weighing 123 tons. It is
supposedly capable of hauling a 4500 ton freight train. Was basically tested
in South-Eastern and Eastern railways hauling unit coal and ore trains.
The loco looks smaller (from photographs) and smarter compared to our WAG5A/5B
I was wondering if any one knows about the loco hauling Madras -B'lore
Shatabthi. Is is WAP1/WAP3 or the usual WAM4, and what is the max speed?
Are any gif or jpeg pictures of IR available?
Sridhar Shankar
From: S. Kumar <kumar@quandsn.email
Subject: comments on vijay's latest posting
Date: 17 Aug 1994 10:42:00 -0500
Vijay writes:
>New Trains
>----------
>- Jaipur - Sealdah Exp. -> re-routed version of the Delhi - Sealdah
>Exp.
> Halts:- Durgapura (towards Jaipur only), Sawai Madhopur,
>Bayana, Idgah Agra, Agra Fort, ........
I assume that this train continues via Tundla and does not touch
Delhi. This means that there is one less daily train from Delhi to
Calcutta.
>Extensions
>----------
> Bombay - Durgapura Exp. has been extended till Jaipur, since
>Durgapura -
> Jaipur is now BG. It halts at Durgapura in both the directions.
>The good
> news is that the run-times remain unchanged despite an additional 7
>kms.
> from D'pura to Jaipur, and two new halts at Ramganj Mandi and
>Bhawani Mandi. Keep it up!
> Ironically, Durgapura was a small station before the conversion of
>Sawai
> Madhopur - Jaipur, with a couple of passenger trains acknowledging
>it.
I thought that Sangner was a more important station on the S'Madhopur-
Jaipur route than Durgapura. It seems that the BG trains ignore
Sangner but halt at Durgapura!
>Re-routings
>-----------
> The time-table has no information on the Jaipur - Bandikui - Alwar -
> Rewari section. Wonder what's happening there!
The section has probably been closed for conversion work just like
the Miraj-Londa section on SC Rly.
>- Rest of the trains such as the Pink City Exp., Delhi Mail, Delhi
>Exp., Jodhpur Mail, and Chetak Exp. go via Jaipur - Ringus - Rewari.
Interestingly my time-table indicates that Jaipur-Ringus-Rewari is
shorter than Jaipur-Bandikui-Rewari by about 40 kms. Could somebody
confirm this? If true, why isn't Jaipur-Ringus-Rewari being
converted instead?
BTW, does anyone have the schedule of the Madras-Mysore Shatabdi?
Regards, Kumar
From: S Pai <Pai>>
Subject: Re: some news tidbits
Date: 18 Aug 1994 01:05:00 -0500
I managed to get some more information about the ABB deal, from an article
written around March.
Under the deal, 30 locos are to be supplied, 14 in semi- and completely-
knocked-down conditions for assembly at CLW. Mid-1995 is the projected date
for the commissioning of the first of them. The deal is worth $220 million,
of which $190 million is from the Asian Development Bank.
The locos are AC 3-phase, as Sridhar mentioned. The locos use GTO thyristors /
inverters to generate variable voltage / variable frequency AC for the drive
motors, under microprocessor control. Regenerative braking is used to save
some power.
The article mentioned that the major plus point of 3-phase technology is
reduced maintenance -- is this right? I thought it had to do with improved
efficiency of operation. And also there is no need for a commutator, making
the mechanical design simpler, I think. In any case, ABB says that IR will see
the benefits of lower maintenance costs and increased loco availability. IR
claims its current electric locos have availabilities of 50%-60% or so, but
ABB's claim is that they are really around 27%, spending much more time in the
workshop than out on the tracks. (I wonder what the real figures are!) and
that their locos will boost this substantially higher. [For comparison, the
availabilities of ABB locos in the Swiss Railways are suppposed to be around
95%.]
Regards,
-Satish
From: venkatar <venkatar@egr.email
Subject: Re: ABB locos
Date: 18 Aug 1994 23:33:00 -0500
Pushkar writes ...
> If the ABB loco (that IR is getting) was attached to a standard 18/21
> coach passenger train, what speed would it be able to achieve?
> The timing of this loco-purchase is very close to the opening of
> Konkan Rail, and its much-touted 160 kmph capability, so one wonders if
> the two are connected. Can some cognoscenti shed light, please?
The WAP1 loco is officially capable of hauling a 800 ton (15 coach) train
at 130 kmph on level, and capable of being operated in multiples on gradients.
Well, WAP1 is 2760kW and the ABB is 4500kW, so I guess 160 kmph with 18/21
must be possible, at least on level.
I believe there exists some kind of backup signalling system of the Delhi-
Jhansi section called AWS. Was wondering if that is similar to CTC systems
used here?
Sridhar Shankar
From: Pushkar Apte <apte@spdc.email
Subject: ABB Locos
Date: 18 Aug 1994 08:05:00 -0500
Is this new ABB loco purchase mainly aimed at increased freight
hauling capacity, or are they being acquired for higher speed trains?
If the ABB loco (that IR is getting) was attached to a standard 18/21
coach passenger train, what speed would it be able to achieve?
The timing of this loco-purchase is very close to the opening of
Konkan Rail, and its much-touted 160 kmph capability, so one wonders if
the two are connected. Can some cognoscenti shed light, please?
Regards,
Pushkar
-------
From: Udayan Vasant Bhapkar <uvb2h@kelvin.email
Subject: ABBlocos
Date: 18 Aug 1994 12:58:00 -0500
I remember having read in Int. Railway J. that the ABB locos are
geared as freight units for 100 km/h. However, their chasis is
suitable for up to 160 km/h. This implies that the current batch
at least is not intended for passenger operation, but with slight
modifications in the gearing, culd be used for that purpose.
Udayan
udayan@virginia.email
From: S Pai <Pai>>
Subject: Re: ABB Locos
Date: 18 Aug 1994 13:55:00 -0500
Pushkar wrote:
> Is this new ABB loco purchase mainly aimed at increased freight
> hauling capacity, or are they being acquired for higher speed trains?
Of the 30 purchased, I believe 10 are 4-axled locos meant for higher speed
passenger trains, and the remaining 20 are 6-axled locos for freight trains
(presumably the latter have lower gearing ratios, etc.).
Similar locos in use in Switzerland are used for passenger trains (where they
have had some problems -- they lose a lot of tractive effort in wet conditions
and also they apparently cannot take curves at the specified speeds). The same
(or similar) locos were offered for use on the Chunnel too, but that deal
didn't go through.
> If the ABB loco (that IR is getting) was attached to a standard 18/21
> coach passenger train, what speed would it be able to achieve?
> The timing of this loco-purchase is very close to the opening of
> Konkan Rail, and its much-touted 160 kmph capability, so one wonders if
> the two are connected. Can some cognoscenti shed light, please?
Will Konkan Rail have the advanced signalling systems that these locos need
for high-speed operation? I believe to operate at the higher speeds they use
some form of ATS or ATC. I hope this has been planned for in the Konkan Rail
project. I remember some flap in the media last year about how the ABB locos
would be pretty near useless on most of IR's routes as neither the tracks nor
the signals are suitable for them.
-Satish
From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@summit.email
Subject: Re: comments on vijay's latest posting
Date: 18 Aug 1994 14:33:00 -0500
Excerpts from personal.IRFCA: 17-Aug-94 comments on vijay's latest .. S.
Kumar@quandsn.email (1775*)
> Interestingly my time-table indicates that Jaipur-Ringus-Rewari is
> shorter than Jaipur-Bandikui-Rewari by about 40 kms. Could somebody
> confirm this? If true, why isn't Jaipur-Ringus-Rewari being
> converted instead?
Yes it is shorter. It is not being converted because Alwar is not on it.
Ringus is a relatively small place, Alwar is an important city.
Jishnu.
From: Pushkar Apte <apte@spdc.email
Subject: More Question
Date: 18 Aug 1994 16:57:00 -0500
Hiding behind the old Chinese proverb, that "He who asks is a fool for
5 minutes, but he who doesn't is a fool forever", let me ask some
more questions here:
1. What are ATS, ATC, AWS and CTC? Signalling systems? If so, what
are their distinguishing features (and full forms!)?
2. What is the correlation between axles, gear-ratio, and whether a
loco hauls freight or passenger trains?
3. Are ABB locos equipped with AC/DC capability? This is relevant to
Konkan rail, because it originates in Bombay, and Bombay is DC.
Thanks!
Regards,
Pushkar
-------