RailEnquiry

NEW DELHI: Days before the ministry of urban development decides on the deadline for finishing the repair work on Airport Metro Express, more 'defects' seem to be cropping up. In a joint meeting on Wednesday of the UD secretary, Delhi Metro and Reliance Infrastructure, which is the concessionaire for the Airport Metro Express, the issue of "severe" water seepage in the tunnel sections of the corridor came up for discussion.R-Infra, which had sent a letter to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on the issue on July 30 - a copy of which was also sent to the UD secretary - claims the seepage is so severe that it has been forced to replace the overhead electrification (OHE) on a "complete rail-length". Secretary (urban development), Sudhir Krishna, has now asked the Delhi Metro to look into the matter, along with the repair work on bearings and girders on the elevated section."The issue of seepage came up for discussion, and it was decided that DMRC will also look into this matter," Krishna said. The UD secretary had last week visited the tunnel to check into the complaint, added officials.Meanwhile, R-Infra has claimed in its letter to DMRC that the repair work on the seepage along the tunnel has meant "huge expenditure" for the concessionaire.The letter says that corrosive sediments generated from the leakage and DMRC's failure "to take proper remedial measures" had forced R-Infra to take "a number of measures on it own" to prevent "serious damage to trackside project assets".

The letter adds: "In fact, due to lack of proper remedial action by DMRC to remedy the situation of water seepage/leakage, the problem has only worsened, causing damage to trackside project assets." It goes on to ask DMRC to undertake "all necessary repair/rectification and to take appropriate action to satisfactorily close all DMRC punch list items before reopening of the line".

When contacted, the spokesperson of DMRC confirmed receiving the letter, adding, "In all underground constructions, especially tunnels which are at such a substantial depth, seepage is a normal phenomenon worldwide. What is required is making necessary arrangements for disposal of the seepage on a regular basis and for this, somps have been designed in the underground tunnels and motors are in place for seepage of excess water, if and when required."

Meanwhile, the blamegame over the Airport Metro Express project seems to be getting murkier. Allegations of R-Infra not having paid the concessionaire fee for this year have been making rounds. The concessionaire, as per the agreement between R-Infra and Delhi Metro, is to pay an annual fee to DMRC while the revenue from the Metro operations goes to R-Infra for 30 years.

However, for the year 2012, R-Infra is yet to pay the concessionaire fee. Sources in R-Infra confirmed that the fee has not been paid, claiming that the closure of the line was the reason for the delay.