Tamil Nadu: Gear up to take a ride in underground metro

CHENNAI: The long wait to travel underground will soon be over as the city’s first underground line from Koyambedu to Nehru Park could be open soon with the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety inspecting the corridor on Wednesday and Thursday. Chennai airport and Koyambedu will be connected to areas like Anna Nagar, Kilpauk, Shenoy Nagar through this route, with a downline of 7.63km between Nehru Park and Koyambedu, and an up line of 4.54km between Koyambedu and Shenoy Nagar.

A mandatory inspection spanning two days will be done by K. A. Manoharan, CMRS, Bangalore, with three deputy commissioners to assess the safety features like tunnel ventilation services, emergency measures, fire alarms and prevention systems, evacuation system, air-conditioning system, and passenger services like ticketing and amenities. “We received documents from Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) regarding the completion of work on the stretch. Last two weeks we have verified the documents and checking the government certificates for lifts and escalators. We will be carrying out a safety inspection to check if the safety features and passenger amenities are in place, and access to these services and amenities. We will check the emergency evacuation system that is in place,” said Manoharan, explaining the checks that will go on for the two days.

Speaking about the difference in the lengths of the lines to be inspected, CMRL managing director Pankaj K Bansal, said, “We are going to operate both the lines from Koyambedu to Shenoy Nagar but from Shenoy Nagar to Nehru Park, we will operate one line only.” As the tunnel passes through the Kilpauk Medical College, officials added that extra care was taken to study vibrations during motion of the train in these regions.

“In, sensitive regions like those near medical institutes, vibration testing was done. Certain medical equipment like microscopes are sensitive to vibrations so different technology has to be used in such cases,” said Bansal. Speaking of the differences in the inspection of an underground stretch in comparison with the earlier stretches, Manoharan added, “Elevated corridors are flexible as the wires are in touch with the pantogram. But underground corridors are more complex.”

“There is a tunnel ventilation system in place, evacuation system in case of fire and flood is different, the fire detection and alarm system is important as in the case of a fire, the evacuation of passengers takes a different route,” he explained. Speaking of the capability of the system to withstand another event December 2015 floods, Bansal added that in the underground levels, limit of high flood levels is maintained. “The underground stretch was filled with water during the construction, but the levels we go by now are different. The level of water that can be withstood is much higher before we need to shut the services down. Also, there is a mechanism in place to pump water out.”

Train testing to be carried out today:

The inspection of the stretch between Koyambedu and Nehru Park spans over two days. Tests done by the CMRS and his team would assess the safety parameters, passenger amenities, evacuation system and emergency alarm systems. On Wednesday, the tracks from Koyambedu to Shenoy Nagar were inspected. Overhead traction equipment, tunnel ventilation system, air conditioning, fire systems, and knowledge of the metro rail staff were also tested.

“It is not just essential to check the system, but also how they are used by staff. Ticketing services, passenger amenities or be it rescue and evacuation system, the staff must know how to operate these,” said KA Manoharan. The team would also inspect the maintenance measures that would be in place once operations start on this route. On Thursday, the 4-member team would inspect the Nehru Park to Shenoy Nagar stretch. “Train testing would be carried out on Thursday in the forenoon session. In the afternoon, train braking system and features at the underground stations like the opening of Platform Screen Doors will be tested.”

With the stretch in operation, heavily crowded areas like Thirumangalam and Anna Nagar Roundtana would see ease. The CMRL plans to finish the remaining stretch comprising Egmore Metro and Central Metro by December this year. Little Mount to Wimco Nagar will be the next stretch on the plan once Chennai Central and airport are connected. Shenoy Nagar is the largest station on this stretch and is one of the stations with crossover paths, which would ensure that no incident would lead to a break in services. At the platform level, there will be a platform screen doors, which will open and close with the train doors, a feature that only Chennai Metro has in the country currently.

Speaking of low patronage, Pankaj Kumar Bansal, Managing Director , CMRL, said that at the completion of Phase I, more users are expected to travel by metro, which would increase the earnings for CMRL. In Chennai, the stretches that have been completed are being opened for the public after each inspection by the CMRS, unlike that in private-public models like that in Hyderabad, where, despite 50% of the full network being completed, it has not been open to the public, said Bansal.