DMRC Pulls Train Through Delhi Metro’s Kalkaji – IGI Tunnels
Surprise! 😀
While the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety was wrapping up safety inspections yesterday evening on the Violet Line in Old Delhi, the operations staff of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation slowly pulled a new Hyundai Rotem train through the 38.23 km Magenta Line’s 14 km tunnels between Kalkaji Mandir Station and Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal 1 Station in south Delhi.
This mid-section of the line is the 3rd and final stretch where trial runs will begin as soon as electrification & other sub-system installation works are completed. At this time, it isn’t known how much time the entire end-to-end activity took or whether the train was able to make its way back to the line’s Kalindi Kunj Depot in south-east Delhi.
The train was pulled by a battery powered locomotive (BPL) through 9 new underground stations at Nehru Enclave, Greater Kailash (GK-2), Chirag Delhi, Panchsheel Park, Hauz Khas, IIT, RK Puram (RKP), Munirka, Vasant Vihar and 1 elevated station at Shankar Vihar:
IGI Terminal 1 – Kalkaji Mandir section – view Delhi Metro Phase 3 map & info
Images shot at different stations en route:
Photo Copyright: Deepak
Photo Copyright: Deepak
Photo Copyright: Pankaj Saini
Photo Copyright: Kumod Ranjan
Riding the BPL! – Photo Copyright: Kumod Ranjan
Photo Copyright: Pankaj Saini
Video shared on Twitter last night:
Just in: DMRC today pulled a train through the 14 km Kalkaji – IGI section of the Magenta Line using a battery powered loco✌️ pic.twitter.com/jWJEMgr4p0
— The Metro Rail Guy (@TheMetroRailGuy) May 23, 2017
Update – Another video:
New video of a Hyundai Rotem train being slowly pulled through #Delhi Metro’s upcoming Munirka Station (Magenta Line) pic.twitter.com/qJ3uCuN12A
— The Metro Rail Guy (@TheMetroRailGuy) May 24, 2017
Magenta Line’s Status
• Botanical Garden – Kalkaji Mandir (Elevated, 12 km) – Trial runs started in June 2016. Finishing works are underway at Kalkaji and Okhla NSIC. Likely launch: June/July 2017
• Kalkaji Mandir – IGI Airport Terminal 1 (Underground, 14 km) – Trial runs are yet to begin. Sub-system installation & finishing works are underway. Expected launch: December 2017 – March 2018
• IGI Airport Terminal 1 – Janakpuri West (Underground, 10 kms) – Trial runs started in December 2016. Finishing works are underway. Expected launch: September 2017 – March 2018
It’s still uncertain whether the two underground stretches will start together or separately. Stay tuned to find out!
Sections of Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line – view Delhi Metro Phase 3 info & map
For more updates, check out the Delhi section of The Metro Rail Guy!
– TMRG
Cool. I didn’t know DMRC had battery powered locos. I thought trains were directly delivered to the depot and then energized.
Hi Abheek,
these are used to pull works train during works, maintenance and emergencies, and under de-energized sections. Sometimes Diesel. It is a basic tool of any operator/maintenor.
Well put! 2 reason why they deployed it:
1) this section has not been energized yet
2) they wanted to make sure the train is able to fit through the line’s platforms and doesn’t brush it at a higher speed. In the 1st video, you can see one of the guys talking about this. I’m sure they’ll grind a couple inches off wherever necessary before proper trial runs begin.
So finally trials begin on this long awaiting section.
Now we can expect whole line to be operational by Dec.
Tell me about the work status of pink line when will trial runs start on Pink Line of DMRC ?????
I don’t know; I’m not privy to that information. Give them some time to clean up and structurally secure the Gurdwara Shaft.
Dear TMRG,
This topic was shared on 24 May, please let me know when this section was energized, When trial run started on this section & when do you expect the line to open between kalkaji & IGI or remaining line to open in one GO.