MANOJa

NEW DELHI: Travelling by Metro will become a breeze in the new lines coming up in Phase III. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) plans to float global tenders for 486 coaches next month. These trains will be faster, sturdier and more reliable, says DMRC's HS Anand. "The ridership at the busiest point on line 7 (Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar) is pegged at 28,000. To deal with this passenger load, we are going in for better trains in the third phase," said Anand, director (rolling stock).

The trains, which are to be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will have a higher average speed, cutting down the travel time considerably. Said Anand, "The average speed will go up from the existing 32kmph to 36kmph. So a trip that earlier took 3.45 hours will take only three hours on these trains." The reason for the higher speed is the presence of more powered coaches in these train sets. While the train sets now have only three of the six coaches drawing power, the news ones will have four powered coaches. "With more powered coaches, there is a corresponding increase in speed, as the trains will accelerate and decelerate faster," added Anand.

The frequency of the trains will be ramped up on the two new lines-Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar and Janakpuri (west)-Kalindi Kunj.

The trains are also going to be more "reliable", says Delhi Metro. "The sub-system of these new trains is an improved version, as they will be more advanced technically. These coaches will be 60% better than the trains in Phase II," added Anand. Also, the trains will have wider coaches that can accommodate more people. Said Anand, "The trains are standard gauge trains but the coaches will have the same width as broad gauge trains, making it easier to accommodate around 50 more people inside the coach." Standard gauge coaches are 2.9m wide while broad gauge coaches are 3.2m wide.

Additional features of the trains include LED-based lighting for energy conservation, LCD screens for passengers as well as longer life of the train. "The global tender will floated soon. The tender documents have been sent to JICA for approval, before the tender is taken out by Delhi Metro. JICA's approval is needed as it will be funding the procurement of trains in Phase III," added Anand.



New trains to cut Metro travel time - The Times of India