Platform railings come up at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Interchange metro station 

BMRCL installs platform safety railings at Namma Metro stations to prevent accidents and plans to introduce platform screen doors.

Following recent incidents of people accessing the electrified tracks at Namma Metro stations, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Thursday, February 1, installed platform safety railings at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Interchange station to prevent passengers from falling onto the tracks. The BMRCL has implemented platform safety railings at the Majestic metro station as part of a pilot project.

Speaking to The Hindu, A.S. Shankar, Executive Director (Operations and Maintenance) at BMRCL, said, “Due to substantial daily footfall at the Majestic metro station, the decision was made to initiate the installation of platform safety railings as a pilot project. In the days ahead, we will assess the effectiveness of the platform safety railings at the station and consider extending the initiative to other metro stations.”

The installation of platform safety railings occurred shortly after a male commuter leaped in front of a train at Jalahalli metro station on January 5. The incident caused injuries to the man and led to disruptions in Green Line operations for an hour.

“These railings are designed to safeguard passengers and mitigate the risk of people trespassing onto the tracks, a situation that could cause substantial disruptions in metro operations, which is a matter of great concern. Our approach includes the installation of steel hand railings along the platforms of busy metro stations, strategically placed at the platform edges where train doors open,” a BMRCL official said.

The BMRCL has slated the introduction of platform screen doors (PSD) in several upcoming metro stations. The first station in the city to have this technology will be Konappana Agrahara in Electronics City. Funded by Infosys Foundation, this station is part of the R.V. Road-Bommasandra Yellow Line, which might commence operations in the middle of this year.

The metro has given a tender recently to install PSD on the Pink Line, Blue Line Phase 2A (Central Silk Board-K.R. Pura), and elevated airport city station, on the Blue Line Phase 2B (K.R. Pura-airport).

As per the agreement, 13 underground stations are slated to receive full-height Platform Screen Doors (PSDs) while 37 elevated, or at-grade stations, in the aforementioned metro projects will be equipped with half-height Platform Screen Gates (PSGs). The agreement encompasses the implementation of CBTC signalling, train control systems, and platform screen door/gate systems. PSDs are crucial in preventing incidents like people falling onto the tracks, leaning over platform edges, or wandering beyond designated platform areas.