Trial run on the much-awaited Mandi House to ITO station of the Delhi Metro’s ‘Heritage line’ was flagged off by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Thursday. The ITO station, which is likely to benefit around 22,000 passengers, is now likely to open around March as the trial runs would go on at least for a month and after that it would require the mandatory approvals from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS).
The green flag for the beginning of the trial run on the underground stretch of the Phase III route
between the Mandi House and ITO stations was waved off by Singh. The section is part of its 9.37 km-long Central Secretariat-Kashmere Gate corridor of Delhi Metro’s Phase III network.
“The construction work for this underground stretch is almost complete and is expected to be opened for commuter operations after successful trials and
mandatory approvals,” said a Delhi Metro statement.
The opening of the stretch, originally scheduled for December 2015 has been advanced since the ITO Metro station will “cater to a large number of office-goers.”
Work at the ITO station was expedited after The Pioneer reported on the sluggish pace of work at the site. Reacting to The Pioneer’s reports, DMRC’s Managing Director Mangu Singh had personally inspected the site and had ordered fast-tracking the project.
“As per the Detailed Project Report (DPR), approximately 22,000 passengers are expected to
use the ITO Metro station by 2016. The number is likely to cross the 31,000 mark in 2021,” the statement said.
The work on the stretch started April 2012 and was completed this December — seven months before the scheduled date of July 2015.
“During the trial runs, the interaction of the Metro train with physical infringements (civil structure) will be checked to ensure that
there is no physical blockage during the movement of
the train. The entire signalling system will also undergo rigorous testing,” the statement said.
“In addition, the response of the train at different speeds, braking of the train and the interconnection with the Operations Control Centre (OCC) will also be monitored. The behaviour of the track system and the over head electrification (OHE) will be checked repeatedly during all the trials,” it added.
Besides, the barricades along Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg are likely to stay for a while.
“All the barricades will be removed by March-April. This station is an important one on the Violet line, part of our Heritage Corridor, which
will pass through the
Walled City and end at Kashmere Gate,” the spokesperson said.
The barricades currently affect lakhs of commuters every day, with waiting time at the ITO signal of up to 20 minutes at peak hours.