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Fog fails to hit Metro operations

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI DEC. 26. The installation of the Automatic Train Protection signalling system on the Delhi Metro has apart from making the operations safe by ensuring a collision-free atmosphere for the running of services, also allowed Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to run the trains with 100 per cent punctuality even in dense fog.

As such while air, rail and road services all over North India have been adversely affected by fog, the Metro has remained virtually untouched by it. Even in very low visibility it has managed to run operations on time and without any delays or cancellations of trips.

And all this has been made possible by the state-of-the-art Automatic Train Protection system which had come into effect in October, when the Shahdara-Tis Hazari line had been extended up to Tri Nagar. The new system compulsorily maintains a minimum distance between two trains - depending on their speeds - and thereby removes the possibility of collisions.

The ATP system is so sensitive that the moment a driver exceeds the speed limit or gets closer than specified to another train, it first gives a beep, then a warning signal and thereafter automatically stop the train. And all this happens with the help of sensors which are placed along the tracks and convey the exact movement of a train or any other object on the line to the control room through optical fibres.

And now in the case of fog, the Director (Programme and Planning), C.B.K. Rao, said the system would automatically stop the train in case there is an obstruction up to 25 metres ahead. Since the trains move on dedicated tracks, only accessible to linemen, this possibility is further reduced.

As such even when the fog has been very dense, the Metro has operated on schedule. Its six set of trains have been doing a total of 206 trips on the 12.8 km Shahdara-Tri Nagar section. Noting that the system is so safe that it automatically applies the emergency brakes even if there is failure on part of the drivers, Mr. Rao said it also does away the need for the driver to have a clear view of the track in order to operate the trains.

"The only area of concern with respect to fog is its presence on the open platforms. But then seldom does the fog get too heavy on them for the people to make out the train and its doors." No wonder, the Delhi Metro has maintained 100 per cent accuracy with respect to running of the service, which now runs at a frequency of eight minutes during peak hours and at 10 and 15 minutes duration at other times.

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