Delhi to get eight-coach metro trains by year-end

New Delhi: To deal with the problem of overcrowding, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will introduce trains with eight coaches by the end of this year. Mandatory tests and trial runs have already begun, an official said.

"We have begun extensive tests and trial runs of the eight-coach trains at the Khyberpass Metro depot. We expect to introduce them by the end of this year," a DMRC official said here Sunday.

[caption id="attachment_378262" align="alignleft" width="380"] The eight coach trains will first be added on the busy Noida and Gurgaon corridors, which record a combined daily footfall of over 13 lakh commuters. AFP[/caption]

The eight-coach trains would accommodate 2,400 commuters and make the ride comfortable as compared to the present four- and six-coach trains, which have carrying capacities of 1,500 and 2,100, respectively, during a single trip.

Initially, the additional coaches will be plied on Line 2 (Jahangirpuri-HUDA City Centre), Line 3 (Dwarka-Noida City Centre) and Line 4 (from Yamuna Bank to Vaishali), which register a footfall of over 13 lakh a day.

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"Several rounds of testing on signalling, safety, speed pick-up, jerking and breaking are being carried out by engineers. These tests are expected to continue for another 15-20 days," the official said.

The DMRC has already placed an order for 212 new coaches.

"The new coaches will be delivered by September, after which the integration and commissioning process will begin which involves many technicalities," the official added.

"We plan to convert 37 six-coach trains into eight-coach ones on Line 2 (Jahangirpuri-HUDA City Centre), 31 trains on Line 3 (Dwarka-Noida City Centre) and Line 4 (from Yamuna Bank to Vaishali)," the official said.

The Delhi Metro normally makes over 2,700 trips a day, covering about 70,000 km and carrying around 1.8 million passengers on week days.

IANS