Metro commences trial runs for eight-coach Dalian rake

KOLKATA: The Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) engineers and experts along with Chinese engineers and experts have started conducting a trial run of the Dalian rake.

According to the metro railway officials, the tests and trial runs will continue in September.

The rake came to India from China in 2019.

According to a senior metro official, the testing for these rakes started last week and will continue during the entire month of September.

If the metro railway gets a green signal from the RDSO on the commercial usage of the rakes, only then will it be plied.

"We have been conducting trial runs after the commercial hours. The work could not begin for the last two years because of the pandemic. The test runs could only be conducted in the presence of the Chinese counterparts," a senior metro official said.The trial run is being conducted under the supervision of Lucknow-based RDSO, which is the Indian Railways department that oversees safety standards of new rakes or metro lines. The trial is taking place in the North-South metro corridor, i.e. from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhas.

The rake has been standing in Noapara carshed since March 2019. These arrived in Kolkata from China on March 4, 2019, by ship and were brought to the carshed on March 7 in the same year.

The Dalian rake is an eight-coach prototype, which has been manufactured by CNR Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. It has been reported by a news publication that a series of tests had been run on the rake since its arrival. It had failed to meet certain parameters and the Chinese experts had come down to the city in order to make necessary adjustments.