Delhi Metro's Phase III will see trains running at short frequencies of 2 minutes

NEW DELHI: When Delhi Metro's Phase-III becomes operational by 2016, trains will run at very short frequencies of 2 minutes thanks to an advanced signalling system that would be put in place.

The advanced technology, the first-of-its-kind in the country, would reduce the waiting time of the passengers as train would run at increased frequencies.

Currently, trains on Delhi Metro's existing six corridors run at an average frequency of 2.5 minutes and this would be reduced to 1.5 to 2 minutes when the Phase-III is completed by 2016.

The advanced technology -- Communication Based Train Control ( CBTC) system -- will be introduced enabling the Metro to run trains at such short frequencies.

"In Phase 3, signalling technology capable of running trains at a frequency of 100 to 120 seconds will be used to facilitate the running of trains at very short frequencies on the Metro network," a Delhi Metro spokesman said.

CBTC is a railway signalling system that makes use of the telecommunications between the train and track equipment for the traffic management and infrastructure control.

By means of the CBTC systems, the exact position of a train is known more accurately than with the traditional signalling systems, resulting in a more efficient and safe way to manage the railway traffic.

"With this technology, more train trips will be possible with the existing rolling stock," the spokesman said.

Delhi Metro currently has a network of over 185 km and carries around 20 lakh people a day. The Phase-III envisages connecting another 103 km of the national capital with Metro through four corridors.