Work on Metro coaches begins on Akshay Tritiya
VIRTUAL WORLD CM, others taken on a virtual 3D tour of the Metro experience
At precisely 2 PM, the first stainless steel sheet to prepare the bodyshell of Lucknow Metro Rail coaches was cut at the stateof-the-art manufacturing facility of the French transport major Alstom at Sricity in Chennai on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya on Monday.
At around the same time, chief minister Akhillesh Yadav, his wife Dimple Yadav and chief secretary Alok Ranjan were taken on a virtual 3 D tour of the experience that Lucknow Metro Rail would offer to commuters when the first service starts in 2017.
The first train-set of four coaches is expected to arrive in the state capital by October/November. “These coaches would be transported from Sri City in Chennai to LMRC Depot in Lucknow by special trailers through road and would be assembled in the depot for its testing and commissioning for the first phase of Metro,” said LMRC managing director Kumar Keshav. “These ultra-modern train cars would include various features that have been designed and incorporated keeping in mind comfort, convenience and safety of commuters, including facilities for differently abled passengers,” he said. The design of Lucknow Metro coaches, he said, was a tribute to the city’s cultural richness. The concept (front of the metro ) has been based on the city’s landmarks like Bara-Imambara, the Asifi Masjid and the historic Roomi Gate. The golden livery on the exterior reflects the traditional Chikankari craftsmanship treated in a modern and structured manner. Similarly, blending of black colour in front of car is a take-off on the architectural treat of Hazratganj. “The red ribbon profile taking off from train front and moving to side to side top of complete train gives speed and dynamic feeling to the train,” he said.
Special attention has been paid to passenger comfort with provision for 186 seats in longitudinal configuration and two dedicated zones for differently abled passengers. Screens displaying useful travel information have been placed at convenient locations inside the metro visible to all. Each four car Metro train has been designed to carry about 1100 passengers at a time. The design criteria for selection of train cars are energy efficient, reliable and better comfort to passengers in terms of riding quality, lower noise level and environment friendly, according to LMRC.
The body shell of cars would be made of stainless steel to make them sturdy, yet lightweight. With LED lighting and regenerative braking system to feed the energy back to overhead electrical energy during braking, the service would ply on a highly energy efficient technology. All systems in the train would be monitored and controlled by a microprocessor based Train Control & Management System.
Wide passenger doors and inter-car gangways for easy passenger movement, ergonomically designed handrail and grab handle system for easy and comfortable standing etc, all have been planned to provide commuters a noise-free and easy journey. An in-built public announcement and display system would keep the travellers informed about the approaching metro stations . On-board safety features would include emergency communication facilities including talk back facility for passengers for talking to train operator directly, CCTV images inside trains to be displayed to train operator as well as at centralised security control room.
Dedicated wheel-chair spaces for differently abled passengers would be available inside the trains with braille stickers for visually challenged persons and talk back buttons for easy and comfortable disembarking from trains.