Airport express metro to resume operations after 5 months

NEW DELHI: Airport express metro will resume its operations from tomorrow, after the CMRS gave safety clearance on January 18 th, 2013. Reliance Infrastructure Limited (RInfra), part of the Reliance Group, through its special purpose vehicle (SPV) Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL), announced in a media release that the airport metro line would resume commercial operations at its regular timing of 5:30 am from January 22, 2013.

The line was shut citing technical glitches in the civil infrastructure since July 2012. As mentioned in the media release, "these defects have since been rectified by DMRC and the line was offered for re-inspection to the Commissioner metro rail safety (CMRS) in December 2012.

The line was inspected by CMRS on 15th and 16th January, 2013 and a formal clearance for commercial operation was received on January 18, 2013."

Airport express line is India's first high speed metro developed under public private partnership (PPP) between Reliance infrastructure and DMRC. It provides connectivity from New Delhi Railway Station to Indira Gandhi Airport (T3) terminating at Dwarka Sector 21.

Both the parties have been slinging mud at each other since July 2012 over the technical issues in the civil infrastructure built by DMRC which Reliance alleged effected passengers safety and the DAMEPL's revenues.

Though the line gets operational tomorrow, dispute over terms in the concession agreement are still ongoing. DMRC and Reliance infrastructure are undergoing arbitration to resolve issues related to revenue, real estate operation and other terms of agreement.