CMRL to complete anti-drag feature upgrade by September

CHENNAI: For the safety and convenience of Metro Rail passengers, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will complete installing the vital anti-drag feature in existing saloon doors and the digital route map in the Metro trains by September.

To install anti-drag features in all Metro Rail saloon doors in existing stations, CMRL had signed a contract with Faiveley Transport Rail Technologies India Private Limited for the cost of Rs 48 crore in October 2025.

The feature is specifically customised for Indian conditions, where passengers, particularly women, often wear sarees, shawls, and dupattas that may inadvertently become trapped in closing doors. However, the reason for such a feature arose after an accident was reported in other cities.

The anti-drag feature will be incorporated as a standard provision in all trains procured for Phase 2. The feature is designed to detect pulling force exerted in any direction when a garment or object is caught between the doors.

And, upon detection, the train brakes are automatically applied, and train movement is stopped. The affected door reopened to release the trapped object. Once the obstruction is cleared, normal train operations resume seamlessly. Hence, CMRL is actively installing the feature in the remaining 51 existing Metro trains.

Simultaneously, the work to replace dynamic route maps in all trains is also being carried out by CMRL, said officials. And, the work is anticipated to be wrapped up before September, they said.

This feature will help passengers, especially tourists, to navigate the city through Metro routes, they said and noted that the features will be upgraded to cater to the requirements.