New Delhi: As part of its long-term plans to
ease over-crowding, Delhi Metro wants to convert its six-coach
trains to eight-coach ones on its existing corridors and has
placed orders for the cars.
Delhi Metro is currently in the process of lengthening
its four-coach Bombardier trains into six-coach ones and 23
trains have already been inducted into its existing fleet.
"Our major problem today is severe overcrowding in trains
for which we have taken steps to order more number of coaches.
Coaches have been received. We are ordering further number of
coaches and we are lengthening all these trains from four
coaches to six coaches," DMRC chief E Sreedharan said.
He was deposing before a Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Urban Development headed by NDA convener Sharad Yadav.
"We want to lengthen the trains even to eight coaches for
which we have also placed orders of rolling stock," he told
the Committee without elaborating further.
On the inordinate delays on the network, Sreedharan
admitted that there are certain problems which have been
identified and engineers have been able to "set right" all
these problems in the trains.
"Things are entirely under control. For the last two
months, they had no problems in regard to the trains
services," the report, which was tabled in Parliament
recently, said, adding Metro is running trains today every 2
minutes and 30 seconds on Gurgaon Line and 2 minutes and 40
seconds on Noida Line.
These two lines alone carry over 12 lakh people on a week
day. Delhi Metro`s total ridership crossed 18 lakh on Monday
last.
On the Phase-III project, the Urban Development Ministry
told the Committee that the revised Detailed Project Report
(DPR) has been submitted by the Delhi Metro in February for
approval by the Government.
The Phase-III envisages connecting another 104 km of the
capital to the Metro network at a cost of Rs 35,242 crore
including central taxes.
"The revised DPR has been circulated to Planning
Commission, concerned Ministries/Departments and appraising
agencies for necessary comments/advice. The revised DPR is
under appraisal by the Ministry and is expected to be proposed
for approval during the current financial year 2011-2012," the
committee was told.
PTI
