Days after a series of technical issues caused the Delhi Metro to disrupt services and prompted overcrowding on some routes, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will begin ultrasonic testing of rail welds to bolster safety checks throughout its network.
A tender was published on 7 October for agencies for the “Ultrasonic Flaw Detection (USFD) testing of Alumino-Thermic (AT) welds and rails (using B-scan machines for rail testing)” on six lines, including the Airport Express Line.
The contract, valued at around Rs 1.89 crore, will be executed over a period of three years. As per the tender, the project aims to detect hidden defects in rails and welds that could otherwise lead to operational issues or safety risks.
“Ultrasonic flaw detection will be utilised in metro systems for rapid, non-destructive testing (NDT) of rail tracks to identify internal issues such as cracks and corrosion,” it read in the tender.
Testing will be conducted in relation to lines 3 and 4, the oldest routes on blue line, which run from Noida to Dwarka and Yamuna Bank to Vaishali. These two lines faced 2 days of technical issues during September.
Additional lines include Line 6 (Violet Line) that runs between Kashmere Gate and Raja Nahar Singh via New Delhi, Line 8 (Magenta Line) from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden, Line 9 (Grey Line) from Dwarka to Dhansa Bus Stand, and Airport Express Line.
This effort comes after a number of technical glitches in a short period of time. On September 1, the Metro reported a third glitch in a week that impacted the Yellow and Blue Lines, which caused overcrowding at several stations. A signalling glitch between Barakhamba and Indraprastha stations on the Blue Line, as well as another near Millennium City Centre in Gurugram, slowed trains, at which point operation converted to manual.
In addition, on May 21, there was a snag delay in the Blue Line, and on August 24 the Red Line had delays. According to the tender, periodic testing is part of DMRC’s preventive maintenance programme to ensure the safety and reliability of the mass transit system in the capital that carries millions of passengers every day.
