New Delhi:
Nearly a month after it failed to get a safety nod, the Airport Express Line will undergo initial inspection by a team of Delhi Metro officials before the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety is invited for his mandatory clearance.
The move by DMRC comes after the consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure asked it to make arrangements to invite CMRS R K Kardam to inspect the 22-km high speed line again for clearance as pending work has been completed.
Highly-placed sources said the Delhi Metro has received a letter from the consortium in this regard and a team of top officials will make an inspection of the line before it writes to the CMRS.
"We will verify the documents and make an inspection of the line before we proceed to the next step," the source said.
Asked when the initial inspection by the DMRC team is likely to take place, the source said it will be carried out in the next two-three days.
The source suggested that the Delhi Metro will invite the CMRS for inspection if it is satisfied with the work.
Though the line will be operated by the consortium, the inspection and other formalities have to be routed only through the DMRC.
The Airport Express Line failed to get safety clearance from the CMRS last month due to signalling problem and non-conduct of speed trials, the first time a Metro line in the country failed to get the safety nod on first inspection. The CMRS had then insisted that the consortium conduct of speed trials as trains on the section will run at a speed of 120 km per hour.
The concessionaire was also imposed a fine of Rs 11 crore by the DMRC after it missed the August 31 deadline.
Sources said the DMRC can even terminate the contract if the operations do not begin by October 31.
The line was scheduled to be opened to the public before the beginning of the Commonwealth Games on October 3.
Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan had then expressed the hope that the 22-km high-speed corridor will get the safety certificate and will be opened to public soon.
The Airport Line is the first Metro line in the country to be implemented on Public Private Partnership basis with DMRC having completed the civil work, while the remaining tasks are to be done by the concessionaire.
The line promises to take passengers from Connaught Place to airport in just 18 minutes with stoppages at four stations. It usually takes 45 minutes to one hour to go the airport by road.