The impression of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to revised targets for the Part-IV mission of the Delhi Metro, with the primary part of a precedence hall anticipated to open by July 2024.
In an interview with PTI, Vikas Kumar, the Chief of DMRC mentioned that your entire Majlis Park-Maujpur hall is slated to open by March 2025 along with commissioning a small 2.5-3 km phase of the Janakpuri West-R Okay Ashram Marg hall.
The Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Company (DMRC) highlighted that the development of Part-IV has launched a number of pioneering options for the nation, together with using “beam technology-enabled TBMs” to evaluate strata layers prematurely, making certain a smoother drilling course of with fewer surprises.
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The Part-IV mission, initiated in December 2019, confronted setbacks as a result of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Delhi in March 2020.
At current, the DMRC is enterprise development work on 65.2 km of three precedence corridors spanning 45 stations underneath the mission – Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg (28.92 km), Majlis Park-Maujpur (12.55 km), that are extensions of the already operational Magenta Line and Pink Line, and Aerocity-Tughlakabad (23.62 km) that’s being constructed as ‘Silver Line’, connecting the operational Violet Line and Airport Line from the respective ends.
“Because of COVID-19, fresh targets were set, and we are on the road for those targets. I can tell you the first section which we are going to open – Janakpuri West to Krishna Park (Extension). That is a small stretch, but we are planning to open it by July 2024. It is about 2.5-3 km in length. The next in line is the whole stretch of Majlis Park-Maujpur by March 2025,” Kumar instructed PTI.
Requested what’s the general share of labor that has been accomplished on this part of Delhi Metro, the DMRC chief mentioned, “overall about 40 per cent work has been done”.
Official sources mentioned the total Janakpuri West-R Okay Ashram Marg hall and Aerocity-Tughlakabad hall are anticipated to be commissioned by March 2026.
The DMRC had initially deliberate to finish the Ph-IV mission by December 2024.
“I don’t see any major cost overrun, due to the pandemic. But, delay, as I told you, we have already shifted the milestones,” Kumar mentioned.
Requested in regards to the present monetary well being of the DMRC, he mentioned there was a huge effect on it as a result of pandemic.
“We incurred losses for two years. In the third year, in fact, we were just able to break even, say, an operational surplus of around Rs 50 crore or so. Now, in the coming year, we are expecting a surplus of maybe Rs 600 cr. We are, in fact, inching back towards the normal,” Kumar mentioned.
The DMRC, which began its first operations in December 2002, hopes to extend its footprints in different actions like consultancy overseas in addition to in India, he mentioned.
“We are also aggressively doing non-fare revenue business. Let’s see, the future seems to be quite promising,” the DMRC chief asserted.
He mentioned the common ridership of Delhi Metro is round 64 lakh. Extra persons are utilizing metro companies now, so it’s a excellent signal for the DMRC and for the Nationwide Capital Area (NCR), he added.
A senior official mentioned the pre-Covid ridership (journeys or line utilisation) was about 60 lakh.
The Delhi Metro on September 4 had registered the highest-ever depend of day by day passenger journeys – 71.03 lakh.
“Ridership amounts to about 70 per cent of our revenues. Other than this, we are also going for non-fare revenues, how to collect more revenues, by leasing out more spaces,” he added.
Kumar, who took cost because the third MD of the DMRC on April 1, 2022, mentioned the Delhi Metro in its 20 years of journey has not solely related individuals but additionally empowered them, particularly ladies who now journey with none sense of concern utilizing metro companies even at evening.
“The most important thing is the speed with which we have developed this infrastructure. And the culture that we brought in. There may be chaos outside, but inside people are disciplined… they are proud of the system, they own the system. This is one of our greatest achievements,” he mentioned.
When requested about DMRC’s main achievements, he mentioned there have been many milestones because the Delhi Metro has been a pioneer in bringing in lots of applied sciences from its inception.
“We brought contactless tokens and contactless cards for the first time in India. We were again pioneers on getting carbon credits out of our regenerative braking. And 35 per cent of our energy requirements comes through solar energy. Unmanned train operations we brought on for the first time in India,” the DMRC chief asserted.
DMRC practice operations in unmanned practice operation (UTO) mode are operating on Magenta Line and Pink Line presently. Nonetheless, practice attendants additionally sit throughout operations with a plan to make the practice operation absolutely unmanned in future.
“Right now, a train attendant is sitting, but we are in advanced stages… because to remove that we need approval of the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety. Our teams are working on that and we will be doing it shortly,” Kumar mentioned.
He mentioned that in Ph-4, operations can be UTO-enabled, initially with practice attendants. This will even be achieved for all future traces of the DMRC, the official added.
Requested if the Delhi Metro plans to make a foray into the NCR past Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram, sooner or later, the highest official of the DMRC mentioned, “Our next priority would be the three balance corridors of Ph-IV and improving connectivity further in the region, first.”
The opposite three proposed corridors which haven’t but been authorized by the Union Cupboard are Rithala-Bawana-Narela, Inderlok-Indraprastha and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block.
“The Inderlok-Indraprastha and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block corridors are in advanced stages of approval, and we are awaiting the cabinet nod. The third proposed corridor will be extended till Kundli (in Haryana). Its DPR is in very advanced stages, and we would be submitting it to MoHUA for their appraisal,” the DMRC chief mentioned.
Kumar, a 1988-batch officer of the Indian Railway Visitors Service, additionally touched upon the multi-modal transport programs that Indian Railways, Delhi Metro and the Regional Fast Rail Transit System (RRTS) will usher in.
A 17-km precedence hall of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS hall was lately inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Wherever RRTS stations are coming up near our stations, we are going to develop a seamless passenger interchange, so that they can easily interchange between RRTS and Metro. And, also with Indian Railways, at Sarai Kake Khan, we will have an interchange with Indian railways also,” he added.
Kumar mentioned the DMRC can also be a forerunner in relation to ‘Atmanirbharta’ and it already has the i-ATS (indigenous-Computerized Practice Supervision System).
“As a second step, we are now going in for a complete signalling system, i-CBTC (Communication-Based Train Control) system. And, our target is to have that system available by 2025,” the DMRC chief mentioned.
“In ATS, we have become the sixth nation in the world to have it. And, for CBTC also, we will be the sixth country in the world to have it,” he added.
With inputs from PTI.