New Delhi: Delhi Metro today inched closer to
opening the Central Secretariat-Badarpur line, crucial for the
Commonwealth Games, by the end of this month as it extended
the trial runs till Nehru Place Metro station.
Over 40 days after the trial runs began from Central
Secretariat to Lajpat Nagar, Metro today extended it till
Nehru Place station following energisation of the Over-Head
Electrification (OHE) in Lajpat Nagar?Nehru Place section.
The 21-km Central Secretariat-Badarpur Standard Gauge
line is crucial for the October Games as it provides
connectivity to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the venue of the
opening and closing ceremonies of the Games.
With this, the trial runs have been extended to
Moolchand, Kailash Colony and Nehru Place Metro Stations,
thereby covering a total of 9.65 kms between Central
Secretariat and Nehru Place, DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal said.
DMRC is racing against time to complete this line by the
end of this month and the work on the corridor was also marred
by the worst-ever mishap involving Delhi Metro at Zamrudpur
killing seven persons.
Dayal said the line is one of the most challenging for
DMRC as the total time available for construction was
extremely short, since only 41 months were available for the
same.
This line was sanctioned on 20th April, 2007, and the
DMRC intends to commission it by this month before the
Commonwealth Games, he said.
With Gurgaon line operational since Friday, the Metro has
only this corridor and the Airport Express Line to complete
before the Games.
During the trial runs, the interaction of the Metro train
with physical infringements (civil structure) will be checked
to ensure that there is no physical blockage during the
movement of the train on the track.
"The entire signaling system will also undergo rigorous
testing. Subsequently, the response of the train at different
speed, braking of the train and the interconnection with the
Operations Control Centre (OCC) will also be monitored during
the trials," Dayal said.
The behaviour of the track system and the Over Head
Electrification (OHE) will be checked repeatedly during all
the trials.
In the process, the Metro trains will also pass over
Moolchand Cable-Stayed bridge, which has been designed with
the help of a French company Systra and constructed at a
height of 12 meters above the Ring Road beneath it and built
on only two pillars.
The trial runs will continue for a few days after which
the exercise will gradually be extended up to Sarita Vihar
in a phased manner.
PTI
