When Aaditya Thackeray, a former minister in the MVA government and the leader of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena made a statement that metro trains do not go to the car shed every night but once in two to three months for maintenance, many did consider it to be true.

Aaditya has been voicing against the metro Car shed at Aarey, for a long time now. And every Sunday since the new Government led by Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis came in, there has been a protest at the picnic spot against the Aarey metro car shed.

Yesterday during the protest, while talking to the media, Aaditya made the above statement.

For those unaware, E Sreedharan is the metro man of India, a Padma awardee, he is the last word on Metro rail. He is the man behind the successful Delhi Metro.

When asked Metro Man, whether a metro rail car needs to visit the car shed once in two to three months and not regularly?

The prompt reply came, “If there is a big network of the metro rail then, it needs a daily visit and if small then once in two days. This visit is for safety certification, post which these trains can ply.”

According to Sreedharan, the statement that a metro rail car needs to go to a car shed once in two to three months is ‘all wrong’.

Sreedharan says for stabling the metro car rake too, they need to visit the metro car shed regularly not all rakes can be stabilized on the main line.

In his words, the car shed is the ‘brain center’ for the safety and operation of a metro rail.

So when one says metro rail cars have to visit the car shed once in two to three months what is it? According to Sreedharan, there are two kinds of overhaul, where every aspect of the metro rail cars is checked.

The first one is a Periodic Overhaul (POH) which takes place once in two-three years and the second one is Intermediate Overhaul (IOH), which takes place once in two-three months.

One thing is confirmed that is metro rail cars for a bigger network need a Car shed where the cars can go and be checked daily and for smaller networks at least once in two to three days.

Sreedharan says, “Mumbai Metro should have a car shed preferably either at the end or middle of the line. Aarey Milk Colony is an ideal location for Mumbai Metro.”

According to Sreedharan when he was advising Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) it was he who suggested Aarey spot for a car shed. “I had to convince then CM Devendra Fadnavis, he was a bit reluctant but when I made him understand why Aarey, he agreed,” he said.

Sreedharan has a piece of advice for the environmentalist too, he says, “Those protesting should understand that even with the car shed the place can be kept green and people need to think about the economy too.”

Ajit Pawar who was Finance Minister in Uddhav sarkar revealed that Aditya Thackeray's juvenile and egoistic opposition to Aarey Car Shed has already cost additional 10000 Crores. This money should be recovered by auctioning the assets of all those opposing the project.

References: