Mumbai Metro dream chugs closer to reality………Ninad Siddhaye
Mumbai: The future of Mumbais public transport has set sail from Shanghai in China, and will reach the city by April. The state-of-the-art metro train has been made by state-owned CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Co. Ltd.
When the four-rake train lands in the city, it will be put through a range of tests on parts of the 11.4-km long Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) corridor, construction of which is currently underway. The corridor is expected to be operational by December.
KP Maheshwari, director of Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL), a project partnered by Reliance Infrastructure and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), confirmed the development. The first train is expected to land in Mumbai in April, following which, MMOPL will carry out several tests under local conditions before the train is officially given a nod to roll on the VAG corridor, Maheshwari said.
MMOPL had awarded the contract to manufacture its rakes to the over 100-year-old Nanjing-based company in June 2008. There is a 1.3-km test track in Nanjing on which the Chinese officials conducted trial runs. Following these, the rakes were also tested on an 11-km track in Beijing to make them 100% ready for further testing under local conditions, said another senior MMOPL official.
The unique thing about Mumbais metro trains will be a lubrication system installed under the rakes. This system will spray a special liquid when the train is taking sharp turns. This lubrication will reduce noise levels considerably. It will be the first such system in the country, added Maheshwari.