Sreedharan unhappy with Reliance Infra on airport metro project

New Delhi: Delhi Metro is not happy with the Airport Metro Express corridor and wants its operator Reliance Infrastructure to improve train speed, frequency and various other aspects within four months, failing which the operations will be taken over.

The unpleasant experience has led the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to decide against involving private parties in the ambitious modern mode of transport, according to its chief E Sreedharan.

“Our PPP experience was not very pleasant with airport model. First of all, the works were not completed on time. The line was supposed to be ready for Commonwealth Games but it got delayed by five months. Even after opening, they have not been able to increase the speed to (the promised speed of) 120 kmph,” he told PTI in an interview.

[caption id=“attachment_152195” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) workers install a girder on the elevated stretch of the airport express line in New Delhi in 2009. Reuters”]  [/caption]

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“I am not very happy with the performance. It should have been an aristocratic type of service which it is not today,” he said.

He pointed out several deficiencies like the train speed still being maintained at 105 kmph, the proposed frequency of 10 minutes not being implemented and check-in time for fliers who use the corridor which have to be corrected.

Sreedharan, who will demit office on December 31 after an eventful 16-year-tenure as Delhi Metro’s Managing Director, said the Reliance Infra had been issued a number of notices, including the one a few days back, demanding improvement.

Asked about the next step if Reliance Infra did not take steps to improve, Sreedharan said, “If they don’t improve then we will have to think of even terminating the arrangements. We can take over and there is a provision for taking over (in the agreement).”

On how long will the Delhi Metro wait, he said: “Three to four months. Otherwise, we have to give them final notice (for taking over). At least they should show their intention to improve.”

“Yes. Then we will have to take over,” he said when asked what would happen if things do not improve in three-four months.

The Airport Express Line that takes passengers from Connaught Place to International Airport in just 18 minutes, is the first Metro project to be implemented under PPP.

The DMRC has awarded a 30 year build-operate-transfer PPP contract to a Reliance Infra-led consortium. The country’s iconic ‘Metro Man’, who revolutionised the way of travel in Delhi through the Metro, said he had a meeting with the top brass of Reliance Infra couple of days back and told them to improve on a dozen areas.

“I had a meeting with the top man (Anil P Gupta, President of Reliance Infra) three-four days back and we drew his notice to the areas that need improvement,” he said, adding that the Delhi Metro could have managed things in a different way if it had to operate the corridor.

The areas include several improvements on train coaches as Sreedharan feels the trains are not as “good as we expected”. The DMRC chief also said he has constituted a committee to go into the issue and submit a report within the next 15 days on corrective measures to be taken.

The noise level inside the trains on Airport Metro is “very high” and the concessionaire will have to do a “lot of things to improve it,” he said.

“There should be double windows in trains. Now they have only single windows. We have expertise in this field. So the committee will come out with measures,” he said.

Sreedharan said the operator has filed an application for increasing the speed to 120 kmph and the test is likely to be done by the end of this month. He said the Delhi Metro is a “little soft” with Reliance Infra because the ridership is low and the operator was making “a lot of loses”. “We don’t want to rub,” he said.

Contending that the corridor has not been able to attract many passengers even eight months after it became operational, he said the line should be carrying at least 30,000 to 40,000 passengers a day.

The current ridership is around 20,000. “They have to attract passengers to make it viable,” he said, adding that Public Private Partnership projects have never been successful.

PTI