Hyderabad: The public can soon see the first trial run of the imported, automated Metro train brought from Korea to Hyderabad. Although Metro trains will have drivers, the role of the “driver” is only to ensure the opening and closing of doors since the trains will not move even if there is a gap of an inch. He also has to operate the emergency button if necessary.
The three-coach train reached the city in the third week of May and will be put to test before the inauguration of the first phase from Nagole to Mettuguda on March 21, 2015. The Hyderabad metro rail will join the league of automated metro trains which have drivers sitting in the front cabins only for safety reasons and to address public concerns as in Barcelona, London, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Washington DC.
“The commercial trial run will commence in a couple of days and people can see the trains plying from Nagole to Mettuguda, a stretch of 8-km. Our ultimate goal is to run driverless Metros. Nearly 40 Metros in the world are driverless,” said the CEO and MD of L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail project, Mr V.B. Gadgil. He was speaking at a Skal International event.
The imported Metro train will be the first to use Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) which is a railway signaling system that uses telecommunications between the train and track equipment for traffic management and infrastructure control.
The Communication Based Train Control is the next generation of signaling technology that is increasingly adopted in subways and other new modes of transportation all over the world.
L&T has built the largest pre-cast yard in India in the city for the Hyderabad Metro Rail project, and is also the largest investment of the L&T in any single city in the country. The imported trains will be using regenerative electric braking converting the momentum into electrical energy and feeding back power into the system while braking. This will reduce energy requirement by 30 per cent.
Meanwhile, talking about extending the Metro to Shamshabad airport, the official said that these kinds of routes need direct links without stops in between as well as checked-in baggage options and other logistics.
“The Centre had sought a preliminary report from the state on linking the airport with the elevated metro rail, and the report has already been sent to New Delhi,” the official said.
The 72 km project, once completed in five years will be a world record in the time taken for construction, and is not likely to be affected by the bifurcation of the state. There are also talks about introducing Metro Rail Projects in cities like Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam, he said.
