In a significant development, Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II trains to run on the Poonamallee – Vadapalani stretch have received the final approval from the Railway Board, clearing it for passenger operations in February.
With this, the only, but the most crucial approval that the Chennai Metro Rail needs to receive is the safety clearance with regard to the stations along the Poonamallee – Vadapalani stretch from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS).
While the trains procured for the 118.9-km phase II project are designed to be driverless, for safety reasons, they will be manned and operated at least for the first six months. Then, roving attendants are likely to be present in trains for some time before the trains run entirely driverless.
According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), three weeks ago, a team of experts from CMRS inspected two trains to be operated along the 15-km Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch.
After going through the design of the trains manufactured in Sri City near Chennai, the team examined various parameters essential for safe passenger operations.
“Among the aspects they checked include the working of the passenger communication system in the train to see if someone can reach out to the Operation Control Centre in case of an emergency, the functioning of the smoke detectors in case of a fire, whether the safety systems are in place if there’s a problem with the equipment in the underframe of the train and the traction system,” an official said.
They operated the train at a maximum speed of 80 kmph. While the train’s design speed is 90 kmph, it will be allowed to run with the maximum speed of 80 kmph, another official said.
“They looked at the simulation design to see if there is a collision then how many coaches will be damaged. During the trials, they applied emergency brake to check at what distance the train stops,” he said.
Emergency evacuation
This aside, officials said, the CMRS team also examined how the passengers would be evacuated in case of an emergency. “If the train stops in between two stations, the crew will take the passengers safely to the nearest station and the pathway available for the same,” an official said.
The final inspection by CMRS would look at passenger facilities available in stations (between Poonamallee to Porur and Vadapalani station). This would be in the second week of February.
The stations after Porur Junction till Saligramam would be made available to passengers after a few months, officials noted.
