RailEnquiry

New Delhi:  Uncertainty prevails over the completion of Airport Express link of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as the Reliance Infrastructure, which manages the operation of the line, has refused to announce any deadline for the ongoing repair work.The line was shut down after independent consultants reported about the risk of derailment on account of serious defects in piers, piers caps, bearings and girders on the elevated stretch of the corridor."We are currently carrying out the modalities of repair work. There are 2,000 bearings to be repaired and each bearing has a unique design feature," said top officials of Reliance Infrastructure.The central government had set up a committee in July comprising the officials of the Indian Railways, Delhi Metro and Reliance Infrastructure to go into the nature of the defects."The railways have the best relevant competence in the matter. When the line is made good and re-certified, both by DMRC and Reliance Infrastructure, only then it will be started," he said.A Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium called the Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL) has a 30-year concession to operate the line, which was closed down on July 8 for an indefinite period.The 23-km-long line connects New Delhi railway station with Indira Gandhi International Airport."The line has a speed capability of 120 kmph and the safety of people was of paramount concern when we decided to close it down," said the official.The closure of the Airport Expressway has caused heavy losses to the company.