Delhi Metro rejects Reliance Infra's pull-out from airport metro line
29 Jun 2013
The simmering battle between Reliance Infrastructure, which runs the failing Delhi airport metro line, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is getting hotter, as Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd, an arm of Reliance Infra, has stuck to its deadline of pulling out of the joint venture from 30 June.
The DMRC on Friday termed the withdrawal as a ''violation'' of the concession agreement and the ongoing arbitration proceedings; but said it would step in to run the rail line if Reliance Infra pulled out.
"Reliance Infrastructure-led Delhi Airport Metro Express (DAMEPL) had sent a notice on Thursday to Delhi Metro intimating that they would stop operating the Airport Line from Sunday night, which is been rejected," DMRC chairman Sudhir Krishna said in a statement.
The Delhi Metro authorities and DAMEPL have been at loggerheads over the corridor since some serious defects were found in the infrastructure. Operations on the line were suspended on 8 July last year.
The statement from Krishna said the DMRC board decided to reject the notice and call on DAMEPL to continue operating the line. ''If, however, they do not do so, DMRC shall step in and operate the line in larger public interest.''
The airport metro line, which is the country's first rail line in the public private partnership (PPP) mode, has never had a smooth run since it began operations in February 2011.
The services were suspended from 7 July 2012 to 22 January 2013 due to technical problems. On reopening, the speed was cut to 50 km per hour, extending journey time from the airport to New Delhi Railway Station to over 40 minutes, which resulted in a sharp fall in usage.