Title - Safety check delayed, Airport Metro waits

Repair work over, but inspection unlikely before month-end as CMRS is on leave and has other projects

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Resumption of service in the defect-hit Airport Express Metro line is set to get delayed further because the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), who will inspect the multiple repairs, is on leave.Officials had set a Diwali deadline to restart operations in this high-speed Metro corridor after services were stopped on July 8 to rectify a slew of defects such as damaged track fastening clips, bearings and heavy seepage in the underground tunnel.Work ended recently, but the CMRS’s safety inspection was required to run trains in the 22.7-km corridor that offers faster and hassle-free connectivity between the heart of Delhi and IGI Airport and parts of Dwarka on the city’s western fringes.Sources on Monday said the safety check and clearance would have to wait until the CMRS “returns to work”.“The application and necessary documents have been submitted to the CMRS. But the date of inspection could not be fixed. The CMRS, at present, is on leave. We expect an inspection after he returns to work,” a senior official said. CMRS K R Kardam is likely to be back in office on December 10.Given the situation, the Union Urban Development Ministry has decided to convene its Airport Metro review meeting after Kardam resumes office.“The safety clearance is needed to restart operations. At the next meeting, slated for December 12, an inspection date for the safety clearance will be discussed. We hope the inspection will be done before this month ends,” an official said.The Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Ltd, the Reliance-backed private operator, forwarded the safety check application to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on November 5. The Delhi Metro sent it to the CMRS, who received it on November 19. But some documents had to be revised and resent to the CMRS after he asked for additional information.The CMRS had inspection of several railway projects pending and, hence, could not take up the Airport Metro safety check, officials said. Kardam could not be contacted for his comments.

In the line of trouble

22.7 km Airport Express connects New Delhi railway station with Indira Gandhi International Airport and Dwarka

27 months: Time taken for construction, less than half the time required for similar projects

16 months: Total period the line was in service, before it shutdown for repairs

6.8 million passengers used the Metro during its service

70,000 journeys made

Airport Express was built by Delhi Metro and operated by R-Infra

Feb 23, 2011: Service starts

Feb, 2012: Official note breakage of clips — which keep a track in place — at high speeds

Speed of trains reduced to 80 kmph from the planned 120 kmph.

May, 2012: Cracks appear in bearings that support the line

Speed of trains reduced further

July 8, 2012: Service suspended to fix the problems