NOIDA: Can Noida Metro’s Aqua line start operations this September ? The answer depends on completion of infrastructure, power availability and an inspection by the Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO).So far, five rakes have arrived from China’s Nanjing for operations on the Aqua line, including two that reached Noida this Tuesday. Another one has been shipped from China and is on the way to Greater Noida via Gujarat’s Mundra port. For a final trial run, the metro needs a total of 11 rakes .The metro also requires adequate power supply for the final run and is yet to get another feeder from the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPTCL). TOI had reported on March 23 that Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) missed its April commissioning date due to the delay in getting power supply.NMRC has set up two receiving substations in sectors 148 and 83 near the UPPTCL substation, which are helping in transmission of electricity to the metro stations. UPPTCL has already energised the substations and 6 MVA power supply is being provided to the Aqua line now.UPPTCL officials said one feeder was adequate for power supply and now, only work on installing meters at the substation remained to be done by the Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL).However, PD Upadhyay, executive director (NMRC), said the Aqua line requires another feeder which can add to the current power supply. “It is the job of the PVVNL that is acting as a connecting agency between the NMRC and the UPPTCL. They are on the job,” said Punit Gupta, executive engineer, UPPTCL.When contacted, Praveen Kumar, executive engineer, division II of the PVVNL, said a private company has been hired for the metering and the same is likely to complete the job by the end of this week. At present, signalling work is going on till Sector 71 metro station after which the train can be taken for trial till that sector. The track will then require a go-ahead from the RDSO and the chief metro rail safety commissioner (CMRS), which will give the final nod for the trains to start plying.The RDSO’s nod depends on when the organisation provides a date for inspection. During their last inspection too, the RDSO had given some suggestions to the NMRC after which they received a speed certificate.The 29.7km Aqua line with 21 metro stations will see 19 train sets, each with a capacity of over 1,000 passengers running between Noida and Greater Noida. Each train has two driving trailer cars and two motor cars, with the number of seats being 43 and 50, respectively, in the coaches.

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