Platform screen door installation work begins at new Metro stations

The doors will act as safety nets to thwart suicide attempts and avert mishaps like fall-offs from the platform onto the tracks

Platform screen door installation (PSD) work on the newly built metro stations has begun. From Borivali station on Metro Line 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar, Andheri) the said work has been initiated and gradually it will done at other metro stations including on stations of Metro Line 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri), informed a senior official of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). These two lines have a total of 16 and 13 stations respectively.

At all metro stations the transparent platform screen doors will be 1.2 meters in height. It will act as safety nets to thwart suicide attempts and also help avert mishaps like fall-offs from the platform onto the tracks. According to officials, these doors will be aligned with the train doors and open when the train stopps at the station. It is one of the most advanced technologies used at metro stations worldwide. In India, such PSD have been installed in Chennai and Delhi.

Besides, the platform screen door also helps in improving ventilation in the station area and improves the sound quality of platform announcements. The doors also prevent littering on the tracks, which can prove a fire hazard.

The MMRDA is obliged to complete 337 kilometers of long metro network. Of this Metro Line 2A and 7 commercial operations likely to begin this year and trial run from March onwards, it is focusing on completing all remaining works. Reportedly, it performed dynamic testing of first prototype metro train on 520 meters of track at low speed at Charkop depot before starting the actual trial run on these two limes.