NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Delhi residents depend on the metro for many aspects of their everyday lives, yet issues like call dropouts and poor mobile connectivity follow them inside the metro. However, commuters may soon experience some respite as Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is working to find a solution. DMRC has chosen 20 locations along elevated parts of various routes for the installation of mobile towers in an effort to increase mobile coverage across its network. The metro agency is already modernizing the telecoms infrastructure at 29 underground stations.
The DMRC has reportedly asked for ideas for leasing out space for the construction of telecom towers near locations like the metro stations at Kashmere Gate, Tis Hazari and RK Ashram. The other metro stations are the Supreme Court Metro Station, Kalkaji Mandir, Dilshad Garden, Dashrath Puri, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dwarka Sector 13, Dhansa Bus Stand, Raja Nahar Singh (Ballabhgarh) and Sant Surdas (Sihi) metro stations.
The company will also erect mobile towers at the train depots in Shastri Park, Kalindi Kunj, Najafgarh, Badli and two locations inside Yamuna Bank Depot. The majority of the spots which average 8 square meters are either at parking lots or entry gates with the exception of supplementary structures. While this is going on the metro agency is acquiring space for “in-building solutions” to provide cellular coverage at 29 underground stations along three separate corridors.
To improve connectivity at the Red Line (Rithala-Shaheed Sthal New Bus Adda) station, which is also connected to DMRC’s busiest corridor, the Yellow Line (Samaypur Badli-HUDA City Centre) a mobile tower will be installed at Kashmere Gate, the network’s only interchange point bridging three corridors. The Blue Line stations of Barakhamba Road, Mandi House and Dwarka Sector 21 (Dwarka Vaishali/Noida Electronic City) as well as the Violet Line stations of Mandi House, Janpath, Central Secretariat, Khan Market, JLN Stadium and Jangpura (Kashmere Gate-Raja Nahar Singh, Ballabhgarh) are also undergoing cellular network upgrade work.
The underground sections of these corridors are being modernized in collaboration with the government-owned engineering and consulting company Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL).
