Rail-cum-road vehicle for Metro line emergencies

The Mumbai Metro will have a special rail-cum-road vehicle to repair its metro cars in case of an emergency.

The Mumbai Metro will have a special rail-cum-road vehicle to repair its metro cars in case of an emergency.

HT Image

The Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd, which is constructing the city’s first Metro line running through Versova-Andheri- Ghatkopar, has bought a vehicle that can move on the road as well as on the Metro tracks.

“The vehicle will be used for re-railing or maintenance work. It will be an emergency assistance system in case of emergencies such as derailments,” said an MMOPL official.

The Mumbai Metro will run on two guideway platforms 18 feet above the ground. These guideways do not allow the movement of any other vehicle and concerns were raised on how MMOPL would handle accidents or emergencies.

Following this, the MMOPL got the Mercedes Benz Unimog truck, assembled by Windhoff, the German manufacturer of specialized trains, who have installed the rail guiding system on the truck.

The truck will move on the metro tracks with the help of retractable rail guide wheels fitted on the front and back. “In case access is not available through tracks, the vehicle can ply on the road,” the official said.

The truck can carry 6 people and necessary equipment such as hydraulic jacks and other re-railing tools.

The Metro will have 16 trains running on its tracks.

Each train, with four coaches, will have a carrying capacity of 1,500 persons.

The Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro line is expected to be operational by mid-2012.