BENGALURU: Here is a safety feature for Metro commuters that will prove crucial in saving lives in case of any emergency taking place inside trains or on the underground platforms, located 60 feet below the ground. The automated mammoth tunnel ventilator system is already in place along the underground corridor of the Metro stations.
Express gained exclusive access to a room tucked away in a corner at Kempe Gowda Interchange Metro Station, where one of the four automated systems was housed. Each of the 7 underground Metro stations that comes under Phase-I is equipped with two such systems.
“Metro has spent crores on each of these systems in the interests of commuters’ safety,” an official said.
A top Metro official explained in layman’s terms how this system works: “In case of an emergency like smoke billowing out of a train or engulfing the platform, the loco-pilot would inform the Station Control as well as the Operations Control Centre (OCC), located near Baiyappanahalli Metro station. Those manning the Controls here would then immediately switch on a button there that would control the safety system at the specific Metro station. The Ventilator System would be activated and fresh air would rush out in huge quantities.”
“Metro staff are available 24x7 and the safety systems can be activated within 30 seconds,” he added.
Each system has the ability to push out air to send out the smoke as well as suck it in.
This is also doubly secure. “Even if the OCC button pressed by the Control system does not activate it, another button from the Station Controller’s room in each station can do it. Even if that fails, Metro staffers available round-the-clock can rush to the room and physically switch on the system.”
Each system is housed in three large rooms in the basement. One room houses a huge panel of the ventilator with all buttons and readings, another has the mammoth ventilator fan along with a Sound Attenuator while the third room has 4 dampeners.
“All the 16 ventilator systems are arranged similarly in Metro stations. They have been created using indigenous parts as well as those imported from European countries,” an official said.