Metro oscillation trials begin on Cubbon Park-Magadi Road stretch

A team of BMRCL officials are conducting oscillation trials on the underground stretch of Phase I of the Namma Metro from Cubbon Park to Magadi Road.

The oscillation trials were one reason why the commercial operations on the Magadi Road-Mysore Road, which was inaugurated on Monday, were put off to 4 pm on November 18.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, senior BMRCL official U A Vasanth Rao said that oscillation trials are a must to ensure smooth and safe movement of the train on the tracks. “During the trial runs we check if the train is running precisely on the track and look for any movement away from the track. We have to assess how the train is swaying when it moves and the sway should not be so much that it causes damage to the tracks, wheels or results in derailment.

There is a tolerable limit and the oscillation should not cross that limit. The train has to pass this safety test,” he said.

In the coming days, BMRCL also plans to conduct  trials from Baiyappanahalli to Mysuru Road, which stretches across 18.1 kms. The train will be run at different speeds, from 40 km per hour to 90 kms per hour, after which officials will check the sway of the train and decide at which speed it is safe for it to run.  

The sway tests are basically infringement tests  to check whether the train infringes norms at any given point. The motion of the train should not be violent, should not damage tracks and wheels and should not potentially cause derailment.

If there is infringement, then steps to eliminate that will have to be taken. In the tests conducted earlier on the train tracks between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli, there were no major problems, added Rao.

Reach 2 Metro services begin
The commercial operations of Namma Metro Reach 2 from Magadi Road to Mysuru Road will commence on Wednesday from 4 pm to 10 pm with a train frequency of 15 minutes. The operational hours will be from 6 am to 10 pm on normal days. The increase or decrease in the train frequency will be decided on the patronage of this section. In view of the derailment co-efficient test for the full east-west corridor, the train services will operate in Reach 1 section between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli and Reach 2 between Magadi Road and Mysuru Road between 8 hours and 20 hours from November 23 to 28.