Title - Airport Metro to resume service at reduced speed

Trains to be run at 80 kmph against 135 kmph they were designed for.

The structural defect-hit Airport Metro Express might soon resume operation, but at a reduced speed of 80 kmph rather than the 135 kmph it was designed to achieve.The 22.7-km corridor was designed to operate at high speeds, and in the 16 months of operation it has managed a peak speed of 105 kmph.The decision to slow the trains was taken as the cause behind for a fault — breakage of rail-fastening clips — could not be identified, sources said. Services on this line has been suspended since July 8.“A peculiar pattern was found during inspection of the broken clips, where one track has more damaged clips than the other. The difference in anomaly is in the 9:1 ratio. Since the reason behind the breakage of fastening clips has not been identified, the Airport Metro service will resume at a lower speed,” a senior official said.The Airport Metro used to take around 18 minutes to reach IGI Airport from Central Secretariat Metro station. “Reduced speed means travelling to the airport will take more time, at least two to three minutes extra,” an official said.At a recent review meeting on the repair work, Union Urban Development Ministry Secretary asked officials if the problem with the clips could be resolved to avoid further delay in restarting the service.Sumit Banerjee, CEO of the Reliance Infra-backed operator, at the meeting said the “trains can be operated at 80 kmph until the final outcome of the test were known”. He said data on the clips would be tested soon.Officials said trial runs on the corridor has been conducted at 55 kmph. But trials at higher speeds — 80, 100 and 105 kmph — were yet to be conducted. Service might resume by mid-November, possibly on Diwali, the officials said.The concessionaire, Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL), has appointed Hong Kong Technical University as consultant for detailed analysis of the damaged clips.In May, the private operator had reduced train speed when incidences of clip breakage were detected.