Residents living along the upcoming metro corridors are not likely to suffer from vibrations and loud noise from moving trains, as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to implement a technology on the lines. “We will be installing ‘dampeners’ on the rail tracks. They will reduce vibrations and people sitting in trains and those living in the nearby buildings will not feel it,” said Pravin Darade, the additional metropolitan commissioner, the MMRDA. The dampeners would be installed at the time the metro tracks are laid. While it is used throughout underground corridors, it is needed to be used only at curves in the elevated corridors. Metro 2A will have three curves — two at Jogeshwari and one where the line turns to the car depot. Metro 7 does not have any such curve. “When a train is taking a sharp turn, especially in congested areas, there tends to be more vibration. The dampeners will help reduce them and the noise. In the underground corridor, it is needed throughout. In the elevated corridors, people living nearby cannot feel the vibrations as there are piers below. But we will use it wherever needed, particularly at the curves,” Darade said. Since Metro 7, connecting Andheri East to Dahisar East, is being constructed along the Western Express Highway, it does not come near many residential buildings. However, at several points along Metro 2A, connecting D N Nagar and Dahisar, the lines are right outside building complexes. Residents in Dahisar have approached the Bombay High Court opposing the construction so close to the buildings. benita.chacko@expressindia.com
