Title - Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to be blamed for Airport Express line shutdown

The first hint of trouble aboard Delhi Metro's Airport Express line came almost a month ago when the Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Ltd. (DAMEPL), the Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium that operates the line, reduced the speed of trains, which run at 105kmph, to as low as 15kmph in some stretches. The speed of the trains on the 23km-long line connecting New Delhi with the Indira Gandhi International Airport was curbed after the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which built the Airport Express By Rohan Venkataramakrishnan in New Delhi line, asked DAMEPL to start monitoring the line as it feared a deterioration of the infrastructure. Simultaneously, DMRC had asked consultants Shirish Patel and Associates (SPA) to carry out an inspection of the line.In the second half of last month, SPA filed its report pointing out serious defects in piers, piers caps, bearings and girders (see graphic) on the elevated stretch of the corridor. The elevated stretch of the line, spanning nearly six km, starts after the Shivaji Stadium station and continues up to Delhi Aerocity. At one place, a slab under a girder appeared to have been dislodged, SPA's report said.The Airport Express line was built by DMRC. DAMEPL only operates the trains. As the fault is in construction work, the DMRC is, therefore, primarily to blame.But the shutdown will hit Reliance the hardest as DAMEPL is bound by agreement to operate the line for 30 years.

DAMEPL had been slowing trains down to prevent more damage to the civil structure. But on Friday, it announced that it was shutting down the line for an indefinite period from July 8 (Sunday) as SPA's report warned that derailment was a possibility considering the nature of defects.

According to SPA's report, there are cracks in most piers, concrete portions are missing in pier caps, at least 250 bearings out of a total of 2,100 on the line have serious flaws and several girders are twisted, damaged or bent.

"This is cause for serious concern and should be examined without further loss of time," the report said. "The main concern will be that of possible derailment... We can only infer that the margin in factor of safety has been encroached upon."

On July 2, urban development secretary Sudhir Krishna called a meeting attended by DMRC, DAMEPL, Reliance Infrastructure, Delhi government and Railway Board officials. But with DMRC refusing to take the blame, the ministry decided to set up a joint inspection team to go into the defects.

"A committee comprising officials from the Indian Railways, Delhi Metro and Reliance Infrastructure is going into the nature of defects and will submit a report within the next 10 days after which repairs will be carried out," Krishna told a press conference on Saturday.

At the July 2 meeting, DMRC managing director Mangu Singh claimed they had already repaired the 'worst' of the faulty bearings and would fix the rest in 10 days. He insisted that the responsibility for keeping the infrastructure in ship-shape condition was the operator's, DAMEPL, and it was its job to undertake the repairs.

"It is the responsibility of the operator to keep the entire assets safe and in good working condition. The defects were not indicated at the time DAMEPL took charge of the line," Singh said in the meeting.

Reliance Infrastructure CEO Sumit Banerjee hit back, arguing that they had a "different risk perception" compared to DMRC and did not want to put passengers in danger. "There was a probability of derailment, and we would not like to run the line without rectification," Banerjee said, according to the meeting's minutes. He also hit out at DMRC's repair work, which he called "cosmetic".

Ultimately, Krishna intervened and a joint inspection team was set up. "As soon as the report of the joint inspection team comes out, DAMEPL should undertake repair works immediately," the meeting's minutes states.

Banerjee, announcing the line's shutdown on Friday, admitted the service was running in losses but made it clear the line was being closed on safety concerns and not because of business considerations.

Terming Reliance Infrastructure's decision to close the line as good, Krishna insisted on Saturday that the service, which is being shut from Sunday for repairs, will resume in two months. "By the end of August, we expect the line to be functional again," he said.

But sources in the urban development ministry said the deadline was unlikely to be met because of the sniping between DMRC and Reliance Infrastructure, and the costs involved. Reliance is likely to bear the costs at the moment but will likely seek compensation from DMRC, a source said.

Krishna said contractors IJM, the Indian subsidiary of a Malaysian company which was selected by DMRC for the construction of the line after a selection and bidding process, is likely to bear the liability costs. "I agree that the construction should last for at least 100 years and it will last. There are problems with bearings in certain locations. Trains cannot operate with this and this is not the happiest of the happy situation," Krishna said.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said it was always better to err on the side of caution when it came to public safety.

Inaugurated on February 23, 2011, the Airport Express line runs on a private-public partnership model.