Capital Matters: Trial run of Metro Rail soon

The geography of Delhi is set to change soon with an underground public transport system coming up with frenzy in the capital.

The Metro Rail, scheduled to be put to test shortly, may have a trial run between Shahdara and Tis Hazari in the first week of October.

The train will cover the 8.25-km long Shahdara-Tis-Hazari route in 15 minutes compared with the 45 minutes taken by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus. The trial is likely to go on for a couple of months before commissioning in December 2002.

But even while the Metro is going ahead on the right track with full steam, there is bickering in political circles with both the Federal Government and the Delhi State Government demanding full responsibility to operate and maintain the Metro Rail. Both have a 15 per cent share in it.

The rest of the cost is met through a loan extended to the DMRC by Japan Bank of International Cooperation.

Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, says: "The Metro is a Federal government project. As Delhi's Finance Minister (1993-1998), I was instrumental in getting the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) registered.

"And I got a Rs 6 billion loan sanctioned and gave the guarantees. There is no way the present Congress party government in Delhi would have handled such a massive project. But now that the project has met with success, the state government is claiming credit for it."

On the other hand, the state government has constituted a three-member committee under Delhi State Transport Minister Ajay Maken. The committee is to propose amendments to the Delhi Metro Railways Operation and Maintenance Draft Bill, 2002.

According to Maken, the constitution clearly mentions that all modes of transport operating within the state boundaries are under the state government's control. "Going by this, Delhi Metro should be operated by the state government," he said.

As the differences continue, an urban planning official asks, "It is important to know who will pay for the Metro? Presently the DMRC has no dearth of funds, but the loan has to be paid back by us. If, as is the want of the state government, the cost of tickets are priced less, who will pay the remaining cost incurred?"

Even as the anxieties grow, DMRC continues to prove that it can handle a world-class project without disrupting life in the city. The company has ensured that in residential areas no work is carried out after 8pm.

Even during the day, the work area is enclosed and silencers put on equipment to ensure residents are not disturbed. At night, directional light shielding is used to confine lighting areas.

In fact, the pre-cast construction method adopted by the DMRC has proved beneficial, keeping it ahead of schedule.

According to DMRC officials: "The staircases, escalator pits, anti-crash barriers and heavy platform girders of metro stations are all prepared in advance and only assembled at the site." This saves a lot of time compared to conventional construction methods.

The metro trains have advanced features such as automatic train protection, integrated train management system and micro-processor controlled brakes. The trains, to be manufactured in Changwong factory in South Korea, are fully computerised.

The DMRC has ordered 240 carriages made of stainless steel that helps in conserving energy, out of which 60 will be imported and the remaining indigenised. Each carriage will be equipped to accommodate 59 sitting and 325 standing passengers.

Fitted with four carriages, each train will ferry 1,500 passengers at one go. Other highlights of these hi-tech carriages include automatic doors, an electronic passenger information display system and automatic announcement system. The average speed of the Metro will be one km per two minutes.

All the stations will be fully automated and air-conditioned having a different dominant colour. The stations will have ample car space, feeder buses to reach the station and an automatic fare collection system.

With umpteen facets and facilities the Metro is much awaited. For an average Delhiite used to travelling in discomfort, the project seems to be the only hope for smooth and hassle-free commuting.