Delhi Metro’s airport express line to close; RInfra may demand compensation

July 7, New Delhi: 

The Delhi Airport Metro Express Line, the country’s first public-private partnership metro project operated by the Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Infrastructure, will be closed indefinitely following safety concerns.

The service will be closed with effect from 5:30 am on July 8, Sunday. There is no clarity on when the services will resume, with the company stating there will be a “temporary suspension”.

Reliance Infrastructure may be able to demand compensation from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the period for which the Airport Metro services are closed. This is because safety concerns have been raised over the viaducts — part of the civil structure of the line – which was the responsibility of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

DMRC operates the largest metro network with a peak daily ridership of 20 lakh passengers a day.

Operational for just over a year, the airport express line connects Central Delhi with the Indira Gandhi International airport — operated by GMR — in just 20 minutes, and charges a premium fare for the service. It has already clocked 8800 hours of operation and carried 68 lakh passengers. It also offers baggage check-in services, like the metros in Honk Kong and London.

When contacted, a Reliance Infrastructure source said, “At present, our priority is to resume the service at the earliest. On compensation, we will obviously go by the concession agreement, which would definitely have such a clause.”

PTI reports: Delhi’s Airport Metro Express is expected to resume operations by the third or fourth week of August, says Urban Development Secretary, Mr Sudhir Krishna. 

Source:- http://www.thehindubusinessline.com