Delhi Metro News: DMRC to open Botanical Garden-Kalkaji Section (Line-8) in April 2017

Delhi Metro News: DMRC to open Botanical Garden-Kalkaji Section (Line-8) in April 2017

New Delhi: The 3.9-km Metro link between Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj and Noida’s Botanical Garden is on track to open next month. This, following with the model code of conduct ceasing to be effective.

While the Noida Authority has written to the chief commissioner of railway safety (CCRS) — working under the administrative control of the ministry of civil aviation — to expedite inspections, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is leaving no stone unturned in commissioning the track after completing successful trials.

According to DMRC officials, rigorous trials are being undertaken for the Metro link. During trials, the interface of the Metro train, which will later be driverless, is being checked to ensure that there is no physical infringement on civil infrastructure during the movement of the train on the track. Testing of various subsystems of coaches is also being done. “Our new UTO (Unattended Train Operations)-enabled trains will operate on this corridor,” said Anuj Dayal, executive director, corporate communications, DMRC.

Dayal said that the new trains, with extremely high levels of automation, were undergoing meticulous trials between these stations to ensure that they are ready for smooth operations after the commissioning of the corridor. “Initially, train operators will run the trains, but gradually, driverless operations (on the UTO mode) will be possible,” Dayal said.

According to officials, normally for trains operated by drivers, it takes about two months for trials to be completed, but with the new technology, trials along this route are expected to be completed in about five months. Currently, synchronisation of coaches with signalling and track circuiting is being carried out.

The response of the train at different speeds, braking of the train and the interconnection with the operations control centre (OCC) is also being monitored. The behaviour of the track system and the over head electrification (OHE) is also being checked repeatedly. Trials for this link started at the end of October 2016. Once trials are completed, the CCRS will carry out an inspection of the track, before giving the green light for it to roll, officials said.

This particular section from Botanical Garden till Kalkaji Mandir consists of nine elevated stations — Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Kalindi Kunj, Jasola Vihar, Shaheen Bagh, Okhla Vihar, Jamia Milia Islamia, Sukhdev Vihar, Okhla NSIC and Kalkaji Mandir.

Source:MetroRailNews