The Union Urban Development Ministry will soon amend the Delhi Metro Act to provide for single line operations as a way out to operationalise the much-awaited ITO Metro section. This follows refusal of the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) to give safety clearance to the line on the ITO stretch on the ground that it does not have ‘reversal facility’ at the ITO.
While CMRS is of the view that the Delhi Metro Act does not permit single-line operation, the Delhi Metro said the project can’t be kept waiting for the second line which is proposed to be constructed at a later stage.
“Because of the difference, the project is not able to take off. As a way out, the UD Ministry will soon approach the Railways Ministry for amendments seeking provision for single line operation in the Delhi Metro Act. “Once clearance is given, the Union law Ministry will be approached for its legal views. The procedure is likely to be completed within the next ten days,” said sources in the UD Ministry.
The sources said that former DMRC MD Sreedharan too had opined that single line operations were safe. His opinion was sought in the matter by UD Minister Venkaiah Naidu at a meeting a few days ago. The amendment will enable the CMRS to work within the rules and give a green signal to single-line operation between Mandi House and the ITO Metro Station where the metro is already undertaking trial runs.
Work on the station and the track till ITO is finished. It is expected to carry 40,000 commuters each day. A Delhi Metro official explained that single-line operation is basically carried out when a station has no provision for reversal of the train. For example, when the train travels from Badarpur to Central Secretariat and thereafter to Mandi House, it can reverse for the return journey through a reversal system available at the designated station, in this case, Mandi House. However, when it will travel till ITO there is no reversal station there for it to return back. The train that will go till ITO will return to Mandi House on the same track. The next reversal station on this corridor is at Kashmere Gate, he said.