Delhi metro rail to use conventional trains on metrolite corridor

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is planning to use its conventional trains on its first Metrolite corridor between Rithala and Narela instead of regular coaches. The Metrolite corridor is a part of the Phase IV project. Its trains will run on a 22 km long rail corridor in the middle of the road, fenced on both sides. The design has not yet been finalised, but the plan is to have smaller trains like other light rail projects since the ridership on this route is expected to be high. The Managing Director of DMRC, Mangu Singh, told the media that they had finalised the alignment, the option of the type of train to be used has been kept open. The trains to be used for light rail projects were designed with sharp curves, steep gradients, etc. Metrolite coaches will be 10-11 metres long, compared to Delhi Metro coaches with 22 metres in length. Singh said that three coaches are clubbed together to form one train unit. It uses different technology to sharper curves, which will be a little expensive. However, Metrolite might have a cheaper system since the corridor will not have sharper curves, but it will have a fair alignment. He said that the company might use the current metro coaches while the concept remains the same as that of Metrolite coaches, including platforms with sheds, ticket validators inside the trains, etc. Due to this reason, the light rail system costs less than half, compared to a high-capacity system like metro rail. For Metrolite, the passengers will be able to access the platform in the middle of the road through subways opening on both sides and the middle of the road. He said that the proposed Metrolite route would be at-grade, and the second Metrolite between Kirti Nagar and Dwarka Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre may have elevated sections. Image Source Also read: MMRDA to purchase 10 more rakes for Mumbai monorail project