New Delhi: Delhi Metro trains will now operate at a height of 23.6 metres at Dhaula Kuan under phase III, a major engineering feat in its construction history.
The Metro viaduct between South Campus and Delhi Cantonment metro stations of the under-construction 59 km-long Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor, which will cross over the existing alignment of the Airport Express line at Dhaula Kuan, will be constructed without hampering movement of trains on the Airport Line and traffic movement between Ring Road and Sardar Patel Marg.
“The height of the viaduct will be 23.6 metres at this spot, as high as a seven storey building, and will be the highest point of Delhi Metro so far surpassing Karkarduma where the Metro is 19 metres above the ground,” DMRC Executive Director (Corporate Communications) Anuj Dayal said.
The “launching operation” above the Airport line is done only during non-operating hours between 12.30 AM till 4 AM to avoid any disruption to the traffic on Airport line.
During this time, no activities for train operations are permitted on that portion of the Airport Express Line. A diversion road has also been constructed so that there is no inconvenience to the commuters.
After getting clearances from Operation and Maintenances (O&M) Department of the Airport line, the launching work is done and all the parts of launcher are earthened before commencing work.
“In order to ensure the safety of the workers and trains and traffic below, DMRC has installed CCTV cameras at various locations on the viaduct of the Airport Line and on the launcher to monitor the overall activities,” Dayal said.
A team of six Civil Engineers, two safety experts, Engineers from O&M department and other experts are closely monitoring every movement of the launcher, weighing 350 tons, in the night so as to ensure that process of erecting segments over the existing viaduct and Over Head Electrification (OHE) of the Airport Express line is carried out smoothly without causing any damage to the already operational line, he added.
DMRC’s design tram has also prepared the layout of the viaduct after closely studying the requirement of passing over major landmarks such as the Airport Line viaduct and the flyover at such a height.