Rly board wary of door closing system in trains

— By Iram Siddique | May 18, 2015

Mumbai : After the successful trials of the first train with automatic door closing system, the going has got tough for railway officials who had written to the Railway Board (RB) seeking their permission for changing all the trains with the similar function of door closing technology.

The Board has raised apprehensions over the time taken for the opening and closing of the doors and has asked the railways to explain as to how they will make the process smooth. At present, the opening and closing of the door in the train is handled by the guard of the train who operates the system with two switches provided on both the left and right side of his cabin. The guard has been instructed to press the switch on side which the platform is as the train enters a station. While the railways officials say the doors open within three seconds of the train coming to a halt, it is often observed that the time taken is much more.

A senior railway official said, “At present, the control is with the guard who has to manually press the button for the doors to open which might leave some room for error as its manual. However, in the long run it will be automatic with the doors opening and closing themselves after the train comes to a halt.” The railway officials will be sending these replies to the board and depending on the reply will decide the further course of action.

The railways have also conducted a survey through their website seeking opinions and feedback from people who have travelled in the trains with automatic door closing technology. “The feedback that we have received through the website suggests that people are generally contented with the closed door system and it is working well. We will explain out plan of actions to the railway board and wait for their approval.”

 Iram Siddique