While commuters are trying to escape the scorching sun during the summers, Delhi Metro, known as a lifeline to the city, provided a cooler option for the public to travel to their destinations at affordable prices. The average passenger journeys observed in May 2024 were record high at 60.17 Lakh against the 52.41 Lakh recorded in May 2023.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) Principal Executive Director of Corporate Communication Anuj Dayal said, “During this summer when Delhi crossed all time high temperatures on multiple occasions and still no immediate respite in sight, Delhi Metro is silently offering its cool services across the network by performing over 4200 train trips running around 1.40 Lakh Kilometers daily. Thereby, giving much needed relief to commuters with a 24 degree Celsius pleasant commuting experience throughout the day.”
Throughout the month of May, when summer peaked and temperature even hovered around 50 degree celsius, Delhi Metro offered its services in a comfortable manner with no breakdowns or AC failures reported from any of its trains or underground stations which are designed for air-conditioning.
“At present DMRC has a fleet of over 345 trains with around 5000 AC units installed in them. To ensure that all AC units give their optimum performance during peak summers, a comprehensive health check up for these AC units is done before the onset of summers in March every year,” Dayal stated.
To ensure that commuters face no issues during their journey in the metro, Dayal shared that it is ensured that faulty components, if any, are timely weeded out and replaced with healthy ones to provide unhindered cooling experience to its commuters during peak summers. “In addition, regular maintenance of these AC units is also undertaken every three months. Besides this, train operators also regularly monitor coach temperature to promptly address any issues related to temperature variation and ensure a pleasant journey experience for passengers,” he stated.
Elaborating further he said, “All underground stations are also equipped with state of art building management system (BMS) and Chiller Plan Manager (CPM) for remote monitoring and control of air conditioning equipment/units. This system continuously monitors the ambient and station temperature in real time basis and takes action to maintain the station temp between 25 and 27 degrees Celsius, even when outside temperatures range from 45 to 50 degrees Celsius.”
Additionally, regular inspections are being conducted on infrastructure components sensitive to heat, such as escalators and lifts, to prevent malfunctions. “The frequency of maintenance checks for heat-sensitive equipment is also increased during such periods. To prevent any incidence of fire which is a common phenomenon during such heat waves, DMRC has a robust mechanism of fire Extinguishers and Hoses at its stations which are regularly maintained especially at strategic locations in and around metro premises. Sprinkler systems are regularly checked and maintained so that it can be quickly activated in case of a fire,” he said.
Apart from Operations, on the Project (construction) front too, DMRC has implemented the provision of providing breaks to the workforce during the afternoons due to the ongoing heatwave. “Other necessary provisions such as drinking water, medical facilities have also been made available at all our sites. We are ensuring that the workforce is not exposed to excessive heat. All Project Managers have been instructed to monitor that these instructions are stringently adhered to by the contractors,” Dayal claimed.