Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metro Rail carried out its first alignment, track, signalling and communication tests on the bridge outside the Nagole depot, all the way up to the Survey of India station on Thursday.
Incidentally, people were not aware that the authorities had planned the tests on Thursday. When residents of neighbouring buildings realised that the Metro officials were conducting the track tests, they ran for their terraces and balconies to have a look.
The three coaches, branded with advertisements, however, operated on a half-a-km stretch. A senior engineer said, “We need to test all the components in the train, including air-conditioning, signalling, track and alignment issues. These need to be checked and also verified whether they are synchronising with each other. These are routine tests and many more such tests will be conducted.”
The metro bridge from Nagole depot to Uppal now has electric current and hence is a high-security zone. The tests require extreme caution as any variation needs to be reported and verified.
V.B. Gadgil, the chief executive and MD of L&T, the contractor for the Metro Rail project, said, “There are several tests to be conducted on the train. Once we are convinced, inspections will be carried out and safety certificates issued. After that, the trial runs will be conducted.”
On Thursday, the train carried only three officers. After a few days, load testing will be carried out when the train will be loaded with cement bags to check how much load it can carry, said a Metro official.
