During the ongoing summer season, when the temperatures in the national capital are at an all-time high with no immediate respite in sight, the Delhi Metro is silently offering its cool services across the network running over 4,200 trains for around 1.40 lakh km daily.

“Thereby, giving much-needed relief to commuters with a 24 degrees Celsius pleasant commuting experience throughout the day,” a DMRC spokesperson said on Monday.

Throughout the month of May, when summer peaked and temperature even breached 50-degree C mark for the first ever time in India, the Delhi Metro offered/offering its services in a most reliable and comfortable manner with no breakdowns or AC failures reported from any of its trains or underground stations which are designed for air-conditioning.

At present, the DMRC has a fleet of over 345 trains with around 5,000 AC units installed in them. To ensure that all AC units give their optimum performance during peak summers, a comprehensive health checkup for these AC units is done before the onset of summer in March every year.

In this checkup, it is ensured that faulty components, if any, are timely weeded out and replaced with healthy ones to provide an unhindered cooling experience to its commuters during peak summers. In addition, regular maintenance of these AC units is also undertaken every three months.

Besides, train operators regularly monitor coach temperature to promptly address any issues related to temperature variation and ensure a pleasant journey experience for passengers.

Similarly, all underground stations are equipped with state of art building management system (BMS) and Chiller Plan Manager (CPM) for remote monitoring and control of air conditioning equipment/units. This system continuously monitors the ambient and station temperature on a real-time basis and takes action to maintain the station temp between 25 and 27 degrees Celsius, even when outside temperatures range from 45 to 50 degrees Celsius.

Regular inspections are being conducted on infrastructure components sensitive to heat, such as escalators and lifts, to prevent malfunctions. The frequency of maintenance checks for heat-sensitive equipment is also increased during such a period.

To prevent any incidence of fire which has become a recurring phenomenon during such heat waves, the DMRC has a robust mechanism of fire Extinguishers and Hoses at its stations which are regularly maintained especially at strategic locations in and around metro premises. Sprinkler systems are regularly checked and maintained so that it can be quickly activated in case of a fire.

Average passenger journeys observed in May 2024 were record high at 60.17 lakh against the 52.41 lakh recorded in May 2023. This is a testimony to the fact that normalcy has bounced back after Covid pandemic besides the popularity of Metro as the preferred mode of transport during these scorching days.

Apart from Operations, on the Project (construction) front too, DMRC has implemented the provision of providing breaks to the workforce during the afternoons due to the ongoing heatwave. Other necessary provisions such as drinking water and medical facilities have also been made available at all our sites.

“We are ensuring that the workforce is not exposed to excessive heat. All Project Managers have been instructed to monitor that these instructions are stringently adhered to by the contractors,” the spokesperson said.