High-tech Metro rakes miss deadline

“The rakes are ready. The stretch was handed over recently as there were encroachments,” said K P Maheshwari,director,MMOPL. If the rakes are brought now,would have to be kept stationary till construction on the land is complete,he said. “We’re expecting the rakes in a couple of months. In the meantime,work on that stretch will be completed.”

The 11.4 km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor is scheduled for commissioning by December end,despite some roadblocks in the way.

The CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Company has bagged a Rs 604-crore contract for supply of 16 trains over two years. The Chinese manufacturer is a 100-year-old subsidiary of the state-owned China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd.

The delay has given the MMOPL time for trial runs on a test track in Nanjing. “There is a 1.3-km test track in Nanjing where we’re conducting trial runs. Following that the rake will be tried on a 11-km track in Beijing so that it has been 100 per cent tested when it is brought here,” Maheshwari added.

Each rake,with only one class of travel,will start with four coaches,with two more to possibly follow in a couple of years if passengers increase. The train frequency,initially five minutes,will increase gradually as more rakes are introduced.

MMOPL sources said black boxes in all coaches and the motorman’s cabin will record all sounds,while closed-circuit cameras will keep commuters under constant surveillance. There will also be an advanced commuter-driver communication system,with electronic route maps.