Monkey Hill (station code MHC) is an "undocumented" stop (undocumented to the general public) in the ghat section somewhere in between Khandala and Karjat. For many years now, all trains coming downhill from the steep ghats from Khandala to Karjat need to stop at this "station".
The purpose of this stop is not, as the name suggests, for people to catch sight of monkeys (although monkeys did/do abound around that area). The stop is also not meant for tourists and passengers to take "in" the scenic view of the ghats. The main purpose of this mandatory stop is for the locomotive driver to ensure that the brakes of the rake (and loco) are enough to stop while making the steep downhill gradient. The loco driver has to bring the entire rake to a "complete stop" for a full 2 minutes and prove to the signal man at the cabin there that there is no problem with the braking system.
In case of a failure to stop the train, the signal man diverts the train promptly to a "side catching" (away from the main line) and this "catching" eventually has a steep upgrade (probably man made) to ensure that the "runaway" train can be brought to a stop.
However, an article in the recent Mumbai Mirror states that this system will be discarded when the installation of sensors is complete in the ghat system. Under this proposed scheme, the sensors will detect such problems and hence there would be no need to halt there anymore.
Going uphill from Karjat to the Deccan plains does not require this stopping. But, to overcome the steep uphill climb, additional loco power is attached to pull the train. Additionally, 2 or more locos (called bankers) are attached at the back of the train to prevent the train from sliding back. These rear locos push the train up the hill.
No comments:
Post a Comment