BENGALURU: Mainline electrical multiple units (MEMU) trains of Bengaluru Railway Division no longer need to go up to railway workshops in Tamil Nadu for major repair works. Without any fanfare, a fully-integrated coach care centre was commissioned at Banaswadi on Tuesday by General Manager of South Western Railway A K Gupta.
“In layman terms, this is like a one-stop point for taking care of trains, like workshops exist for cars or two-wheelers,” a senior Railway official explained. Krishi Infratech has built the Centre for Railways at a cost of Rs 17.78 crore.
A new maintenance shed running into 168m X 20m and extension of an existing MEMU shed by an additional 70m have been created here. “Both conventional coaches as well as MEMU trains which extend up to 12 coaches, including that for future suburban trains, can be examined and taken care of here,” a senior Railway official said.
Another official said, “The present 12-coach MEMU coaches had to be taken up to Avadi or Tambaram workshops in Tamil Nadu for major repairs. From now, it can be done at Banaswadi,” he said. Conventional coaches had to be taken up to KSR railway station for maintenance and some of them can be maintained at Banaswadi henceforth. It will help the Baiyappanahalli Coaching Terminal expected to be commissioned early next year, he said.
Ten coaches can be stabled here at any given time. “The Stabling Line runs to 386 m while the Shunting Neck (where trains take a turn and cross between lines) runs to 405 m, “ the source said. A special aspect is an Inspection Platform. “This will help us examine the under-gear of the coaches,” he said.