Train 18 series 27…the day of unveiling draws close

  

All the Train 18 shells were ready in the nominated bay, undergoing furnishing and installation of equipment. The sequence of manufacture of shells from the start on the underframe jig to lowering of the car body on bogies had been proven and most of the shells were already on bogies by September 18. The sequence, an archetypal of working in ICF, although carried out by Sri Shashi Bhushan, Chief Workshop Engineer/Shell, Sri Ravichandran, Production Engineer/Shell, and  their team certainly more methodically, has been captured pictorially here: 

I was always quizzed by the media about the facilities that we were going to provide for the differently-abled passengers. What we do have on trains today is an apology; doing and undoing a job by installing something for namesake without proper space for movement of wheel chair and a purposefully designed toilet. Talk to some of differently-abled passengers and they would tell you that more than giving them sops, what we need to do is proper infrastructure for them like ramps or mechanized way of getting them onto buses and trains and special facilities inside the transport. I knew that Sri Srinivas, the Chief Design Engineer/M, was serious about improving things on this front. The models that he kept showing me off and an on looked positively better. One of these days, I checked one of the coaches completed coaches meant for differently-abled passengers. I like what I saw. Good sense of space for manoeuvring a wheel chair and comfortable toilets. He did not leave it at that; he engaged some differently-abled volunteers to actually use the train facilities and they gave it an unbiased thumbs up.

The facility did not include provision of a lift for a wheel chair for hoisting it from or lowering it to the platform. We had developed this product and tried out in a regular LHB coach but held it back as a satisfactory arrangement for safe operation of the lift was not ready. Things should have been easier on Train 18 as the train had no risk of starting without the lift getting homed in its nest as the plug door would not allow it. Various time and development constraints prevented us from executing the best solution but we decided that this aspect must be addressed better from the third rake onwards. 

The Chennai firm, the protagonist as far main furnishing, nose cones, cab and toilets were concerned, had picked ups speed and it appeared that, should we start receiving the 2^nd to 5^th transformers in the 2^nd week of October, it should be possible to turn out the rake by the end of the third week of October, employing what I would call the Dash recipe of testing a self-propelled train.

Testing of the first prototype Basic Unit (BU), i.e., the first unit of four coaches, was going to be a huge challenge as the success of the entire train 18 testing procedure stitched together by Sri Dash depended on this. We needed that this test be done thoroughly and comprehensively such that once the transformers start arriving, tests on 2^nd to 4^th Bus would be much faster. A BU, with a large number of devices and systems now required to be validated on multiple counts during the testing. When ICF had done a similar exercise for the prototype BU of the suburban EMU for MRVC phase I project, it had taken nearly a month for the first BU to respond fully to all the tests positively. Sri Dash, was, however quite confident that ICF test staff had climbed pretty high on the learning curve and things would go fine in spite of so many new things in Train 18. He arranged for parallel testing of each subsystem and saved a lot of time. The team did encounter a number of issues but with a consistently sequential approach within the parallel- testing regime, taking all subsystem designers onboard, they were able to resolve them expeditiously. The team had made several breakthroughs already in shortening the test process, without compromising on the content and quality of the testing itself. Considering the fact that the Train 18 system is much more complicated than earlier EMUs, the prowess and dexterity the team evinced was indeed very praiseworthy.  

On 5^th October, during one of my before going to bed phone call to Sri Dash, he informed me that he took the call late as he was taking sweets. Sweets at 23 hrs at night? Yes, sir, the testing team is celebrating the success of all tests, including dynamic ones, on the first BU. My tired body and sleep won over the euphoria and excitement that night but I was one of the first to congratulate the testing team the next morning along with Sri Shubhranshu, the PCME. 

Sri Dash explained to us that the test teams were divided into three groups; group one would check the system as per protocol, group two would simultaneously attend to issues in the same BU and the group three would implement the changes in future BUs which were still in the production line. All the three groups would work round the clock, in three shifts, to facilitate early completion of tests. For many issues arising out of the tests, particularly those to subsystems like brakes, doors and air-conditioning, the teams had to be in regular touch electronically with the overseas principal designers. 

It was time now to plan for the turnout. There would be presence of Press and Media. We held a meeting and nearly everyone felt that we must assign a date of turnout to which ICF teams and all the agencies would work. How would we do it? Like a regular flag off? No, something more like an unveiling! Protracted discussions involving almost the entire team, including our Civil and Electrical experts, were held and a scheme for unveiling the train, the location and so on was worked out. 

Excitement was palpable in the air. Although the half-built train had already got massive coverage, this was going to be the final element. Something that would live with ICF and indeed the team for ever. Everyone had seen the train in various parts but the entire sixteen coaches in one formation was a sight all of us were waiting for. Right joyous would we be to behold your face, our dear train, like the King of France blurted to Henry V! As the poet Jigar has said:

Itne  hijabon  par  to  ye  aalam hai husn ka

kya haal ho jo dekh lein parda utha ke hum**

**It’s so beautiful to see from behind so many veils, what magic would I witness if I lift the veil? 

Or as the poet Wasif Dehlvi, who seemed to have the pulse of team ICF and other stakeholders, exclaims:  

Didar   se   pehle   hi   kya   haal   hua   dil   ka,

Kya hoga jo ultenege wo rukh se naqab aakhir**

**Our hearts are so bemused even before seeing the beloved, what would happen when she unveils her countenance.

  

(to be continued…)