Airport Express halts, phase III takes off

Dec 31, 2012, 01.54 AM IST

For Delhiites, the year 2012 brought the possibility of a wider public transport network closer to reality with phase III of Delhi Metro getting off the ground. The third phase, which will cover an additional 108km of Delhi, will introduce two new corridors – Mukundpur to Shiv Vihar and Janakpuri (West) to Botanical Garden – besides extending the Central Secretariat line to Kashmere Gate.

The year saw the closure of Delhi's celebrated Airport Metro Express. Launched in February 2011, the line closed amid safety concerns due to construction failures. The high-speed line, which connected the airport to the heart of the city, was discontinued after structural defects were found in the bearings, forcing trains to run at a low speed.

The project, which – being the first PPP project – had been under intense scrutiny, was mired in controversy with DMRC and concessionaire Reliance Infrastructure blaming each other. On July 8, the line was shut for repairs.

Mid-way through the repair, the concessionaire threatened to pull out, with the matter going to arbitration. The line, awaiting clearance from the commissioner of Metro railway safety, looks unlikely to resume operations soon.

Commuters still had reason to cheer after Delhi Metro announced augmentation of its last-mile connectivity with addition of almost 600 feeder buses into its network. However, the project has been delayed with DMRC yet to decide a schedule for the launch. The service, which may add to the Metro's ridership, has been shuttling between the vendor and DMRC. While Delhi Metro claims the vendor has been chosen, the vendor says vehicles are not available as per specifications.