AMAR METRO
KOLKATA
PRESS RELEASE
THIRD RAIL REPLACEMENT WORK OF BLUE LINE TO START AT GIRISH PARK FROM 07.09.24
Kolkata, 06.09.2024
Metro Railway is gearing up its assets to lesser headways. The impact of this change will be massive on commercial Metro services. After a gap of 39 years, steel-made current conducting Third Rail is going to be replaced with aluminum Third Rail in the North-South Metro (Blue Line). This change shall ensure 84% reduction in energy loss which is Rs. 1 Cr / year per km of route. once completed, Kolkata Metro will belong to the league of Singapore, London, Moscow, Berlin, Munich, and Istanbul Metros. Metro Railway Kolkata has plan of introduction of 35 km Aluminum Third Rail in next two years.
The preparatory ground work to replace the Steel third rail with highly conductive Aluminum third rail has been completed at Girish Park. The main component i.e. highly conductive Aluminum third rail has been manufactured in Germany. The preparatory work for this has been completed at Girish Park siding. Metro Railway shall be replacing approximately 200 meter steel third rail by Aluminum third rail on Saturday (7th September 2024) night after the commercial hours without affecting normal services.
Preparatory work of pedestal base foundation has been already done at Girish Park Y Siding and Maidan Y siding. Metro Railway is using premix concrete for foundation to avoid any adulteration and better performance in site. This shall be done first time inMetro Railway. The strength is of M65 grade compared to normal concrete of M20 grade. Work of foundation preparation has started in main line also.
This Aluminum third rail has the capacity to reduce the system voltage drops and subsequent energy losses, thanks to its superior electrical conductivity. This less voltage drop in the third rail will help to achieve faster acceleration in the running Metros. As a result, for completing one trip lesser time will be required and in turn Metro will acquire the capability to run services at lesser intervals.That will be an improvement in the efficiency of Metro operations. In this new system huge amount of energy will be saved which will in turn help Kolkata Metro to reduce its operational cost. As a result, the entire expenses for replacing this Third Rail could be realized within three years by saving this operational cost. Additionally Aluminum third rail shall reduce carbon emission by 50000 ton in its life lifetime.
Apart from this, aluminum third rail will require less maintenance and will be highly reliable and stable. In a hot and humid city like Kolkata this replacement will be very much beneficial and inside the tunnel lesser heat will be generated during the time of contact of Third Rail Current Collector (TRCC) with this third rail. For maintenance work the new third rail will not require any welding as two such rails can be joined with the help of splice joint. It will help to maintain the air quality inside the tunnels.
Kausik Mitra
Chief Public Relations Officer
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