GUWAHATI, May 4 - Maligaon-headquartered Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has received positive response from the commuters for its Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) trains on the short-distance routes and the zonal railway is now looking to increase the number of such rakes.
�Local short distance passengers have wholeheartedly welcomed the introduction of DEMU trains. With the passage of time, we expect it will become even more popular. There is a plan to convert all passenger trains running presently into DEMU trains,� PJ Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of NFR told The Assam Tribune.
DEMU trains were first started in Assam in 1996 in the Guwahati-New Bongaigaon-Fakiragram section, but later had to be withdrawn due to technical glitches.
Last year, these trains were again introduced between Fakiragram and New Jalpaiguri and later DEMU services in upper Assam started in Tinsukia Division.
In Assam, DEMU services are presently operating on Guwahati-New Bongaigaon-Guwahati, Guwahati-Haibargaon-Guwahati, Guwahati-Silghat Town-Guwahati and Ledo-Tinsukia-Dibrugarh Town-Tinsukia-Ledo routes.
�Three rakes are in operation under Tinsukia Division. Another 8-9 rakes are in operation on rotational basis throughout NFR, including Guwahati. The number of DEMU rakes is expected to increase with the increase in demand. Planning is made accordingly,� Sharma said
With regard to local services from Guwahati, Sharma said, �NFR is already running DEMU trains from Guwahati to New Bongaigaon, Haiborgaon, Silghat areas. Other areas will be covered in due course of time.�
Sharma said that the introduction of DEMU has been a well-planned exercise with well-located maintenance facilities and there have been no logistical or operational problems so far.
The DEMU trains running presently are having eight coaches each, including engines at both ends. On an average more than 750 passenger can be accommodated in the entire train. In conventional coaches of passenger trains the capacity is about seven per cent lower.
�With the progress of electrification, the DEMU rakes in turn will be replaced by Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) trains which are like DEMU rakes which ply in electrified territory. NFR has plans to replace all conventional passenger rakes (short distance day journey rakes) with DEMU/MEMU rakes. However, no schedule for this replacement has yet been fixed,� said Sharma.
He added that as the DEMU train is more convenient for faster movement of short-distance passengers, NFR is also likely to replace normal conventional passenger trains running in other north-eastern states by new DEMU trains in coming years.
DEMU refers to rakes mostly used for short-distance suburban train services, which have coaches with multiple prime movers, either electric motors or diesel engines, for each coach.
�The same coach that carries passengers also has the motive power as opposed to the normal situation where the passengers are in coaches that are not self-propelling and a locomotive hauls the train. A DEMU train is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. DEMU requires no separate engine or locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one of the carriages,� said the NFR CPRO.
He added that local passenger services are ideally suited to be of DEMU type for its inherent advantages.
�As the DEMU train can ply in both directions, it does not require any cumbersome engine reversal at terminal stations. The interior of a DEMU coach is designed keeping the need of short-distance commuter traffic in mind. Wider aisle area for standing passenger, broader seats with better cushioning, etc., have been provided,� Sharma said.