Eight-coach Metro trains by December

Commuters on Delhi Metro’s two busiest lines that connect the capital with Noida and Gurgaon can hope to expect less overcrowding by the year-end when eight-coach trains will be inducted on the network.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has begun conducting mandatory tests on an assembled eight-coach train.

“An eight-coach train has been assembled at Khyber Pass Metro depot, on which various tests and examinations are currently being done. During the non-revenue hours in the night, the train is also running from the Khyber Pass to the Najafgarh Metro depot and vice versa,” a metro spokesperson said.

“Stringent ‘Type Tests’ are being done on the eight-coach train as part of which various aspects of Metro operations such as signalling, safety, speed pick up, jerkin and, breaking are being checked and observed. These tests are expected to continue for another 15 to 20 days,” the spokesperson added.

The eight-coacher will be pressed into service on the busy Noida and Gurgaon corridors that record a combined daily footfall of over 13 lakh commuters.

Delhi Metro officials said they have already placed orders for procurement of 212 new coaches for conversion of six-coach and four-coach trains into eight-coacher. By the year 2015, all the trains operational on Lines 2 (Jahangirpuri–HUDA City Centre) and 3/4 (Dwarka–NOIDA City Centre/Vaishali) will be either six coach or eight coach trains, officials said.

“The additional coaches are scheduled to start arriving in September and the first eight-coach train is expected to be operational by the end of the year,” according to Metro officials.

They also said the process of changing the number of coaches of a train involves lot of technical expertise for carrying out the necessary integration and commissioning activities.

“A team of seven-eight dedicated DMRC engineers and contractors’ engineers carry out several rounds of testing to make it ready for passenger service,” a metro official said. DMRC plans to put 37 eight-coach trains on Line 2 and 31 on Line 3.