By IANS,
New Delhi : The Delhi Metro Friday began a five-week trial run between Delhi University and Jahangirpuri in north Delhi, covering a distance of more than six kilometres.
This section is part of Phase-II of Delhi Metro, which aims at adding 125 km more to its existing 65 km network, said Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesman Anuj Dayal.
The trial run began at 10 a.m. and continued successfully till 5 p.m.
“The trial runs will continue for about five weeks and the section is expected to open to public in December 2008 or January 2009,” Dayal added.
The section was originally slated to open in October 2009.
During the trial run today, the interaction of the Metro train with the civil structure was checked to ensure that there was no physical blockage during the movement of the train on the track.
“Today the train was run at a slow speed of 25 km/hr (kmph) since it was the first run. The speed will gradually be increased to 50 kmph, and ultimately a maximum of 80 kmph will be generated during the trial runs,” he added.
This section of 6.36 km has five stations of which one is underground and four elevated. The underground station is GTB Nagar. The elevated stations are Model Town, Azadpur, Adarsh Nagar and Jahangirpuri.
During the first three weeks of the trial run, two trains will be used. In the fourth week, four trains will run and in the fifth week, more trains will be added as per requirement.
“Special emphasis will be given on safety, which is the prime concern during a trial, as DMRC has to ensure that the system is fully safe for use before the section is opened for the public,” he added.
This section will be integrated with the existing 11-km Central Secretariat-Delhi University section.
Delhi Metro is the mass transit system of the capital and it ferries over 700,000 passengers every day.