The Delhi Metro is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that passengers feel safe in the newly commissioned Magenta Line to be open to the public on Monday evening. Following the freak accident at the Kalindi Kunj depot, where a Metro train ended crashing a wall, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has adopted Front Evacuation measure.
In cases of emergency evacuation of passengers stranded inside the Metro trains, the Delhi Metro has come up with Front Evacuation. Talking about the new measure adopted in the Magenta Line, a senior DMRC officer told The Pioneer, "In cases of emergency, the norm followed by the Metro is to open up the side doors. However, in the new line, we have adopted the front door evacuation. The front doors will roll out into the tracks and work as ramps which can then be used by stranded passengers to come out of the train."
The DMRC on Friday afternoon organised a media tour on Magenta Line from Botanical Garden till Kalkaji Mandir. 12.63-km stretch of the Botanical Garden-Janakpuri West corridor will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and will be thrown open to the public from 5pm.
The new Magenta Line will reduce travel time between Noida and South Delhi to 19 minutes.
Anuj Dayal, Executive Director, Corporate Communications said, "This Line will have many firsts to its credit. For the first time in India, trains will run unattended. The platform screen doors (PSDs) are being used here for the first time"
"The Magenta Line will be the first line to run on the CBTC technology (auto mode). The trains will run under the supervision of a driver for at least two years before running on the auto mode," he added.
The PSDs are glass-made screens installed near the edge of platforms that open only when a train arrives and shut after it departs. They are installed to enhance commuter safety.
"Besides, a new-age technology, Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling technology will be used that can facilitate movement of trains with a frequency of 90 to 100 seconds will also be pressed into service," Dayal said. Initially trains will operate with the frequency of five minutes and 14 seconds on this section.
After the new section of the Delhi Metro is opened, commuters will be able to travel directly to Kalkaji Mandir Metro Station from Botanical Garden in 19 minutes, he said.
The travel time on Blue and Violet lines takes 52 minutes with interchange point at Mandi House station.
Dayal and other DMRC officials also said that the recent accident at the Kalindi Kunj metro depot was purely a "human error" during maintenance, and there was no reason to worry.
Trains on the Magenta Line have been brought from Seoul (in South Korea). Anuj Dayal said that the trains would essentially be driverless, but there would be roving attendants. "We would keep this mechanism say for a year or two," he added.
"We would get passengers feedback on this and once we realise that we have the people's confidence, we will remove those attendants, to make them fully driverless," said a senior DMRC official, adding, "Passenger safety is our utmost concern and it has been taken care of on this line".
While Kalkaji Mandir station falls in Delhi, Botanical Garden station is located in Noida. The old Kalakaji Mandir station is part of the Violet Line (Kahmere Gate-Escorts Mujesar) and the old Botanical Garden is part of the Blue Line (Dwarka-Noida City Centre). The Botanical Garden has been developed as the metro's first-ever inter-change station outside the boundaries of Delhi.
Dayal said the new line would also prove economical for commuters, besides saving time."The 28-km stretch between Kalkaji Mandir and Botanical Garden costs Rs 50. Now, with direct connectivity, the ride has been reduced to 12 km, costing Rs 30," he said.
The DMRC authorities said 10 trains would operate on this new line, while two would be kept on reserve. The coaches running on this line have LED information display, power charging capacity, including directly through USB ports, and colourful seats of different shades.