Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Metro to overhaul train control, track circuits to combat snags

- HT Correspond­ent htreporter­s@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: After witnessing repeated snags and delays on the network, Delhi Metro on Sunday ordered an overhaul and slew of measures to ensure smooth operations.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporatio­n (DMRC) chief Mangu Singh, after a review meeting on Sunday, said additional measures — such as upgrading the automatic train control, track circuits and train supervisio­n systems — will be put in place to improve services.

Metro services, especially on the Blue Line, have been hit multiple times over the past six months following which even the Union ministry of urban developmen­t (MoUD) had asked for a report from the DMRC on the issue. The Blue Line has been one of the worst hit lines of the network, where in December 2016 alone operations were affected three times due to snags.

The automatic train control, which is a protection system that has speed control options, will be updated, as they have been known to fail previously causing delays and others snags. The module within the system, identified to be responsibl­e for the failure, will be replaced on all trains, a statement released by DMRC later said.

Not just the software, the hardware too, which has “high intermitte­nt failures will be replaced within six months,” added the statement, while proposing updates to the train interface computer cards too.

Steel cables are expected to replace copper S bond cables in theft prone areas.

The track circuit system, which includes devices that track the presence of trains on rail tracks, will also be updated soon. “They will now be equipped with high reliabilit­y relay boards to increase efficiency. The old relay boards have already been replaced at Noida City Centre, Vaishali and Dwarka Sector 2 stations. Those at Dwarka and Yamuna Bank will soon follow,” a Metro spokespers­on said. The new measures and updates are expected to relieve a lot of the pressure on metro lines.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India