Metro may get to skip trial run

BANGALORE: The much-delayed Namma Metro may not need to conduct trial runs for 2,500 km before it becomes operational, much to the ire of infrastructure experts.Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) D K Singh told Express he had the power to overlook certain aspects before giving approval if the technical specifications of the metro track were satisfactory.He said Bangalore Metro might run soon if the CRS was satisfied with the inspection and trial of Railway Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO).However, experts fear if the CRS overlooks trial runs, the BMRCL may try to put pressure on other departments as well to give approval by overlooking rules.They believe BMRCL will resort to it to make up for the delay in launch.M N Sreehari, Advisor to Government on Traffic, Transportation and Infrastructure, said the 2,500-km trial run should be undertaken as the rule book mandates.“There can be no question of overlooking such aspects as in the end it is all about the safety of commuters, which cannot be risked,” he said.Crawling alongAs per the metro rail rules, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) is required to conduct a track run of 2,500 km before it can start operations. BMRCL started the trial run on the 6.7-km stretch between Byappanahalli and M G Road in January. By March first week, it has completed trial run on around 1,200 km.This March, BMRCL ran into a hurdle when RDSO pointed out flaws in the track structure and schedule of dimension of metro. Now metro is required to get a new speed certificate.