Delhi’s Airport Metro Express will miss its August-end deadline set by the government for resumption of services as the repair work undertaken by Delhi Metro on the civil structure is expected to end only by mid-September.
The repair work on the bearings that serve as an interface between the pillar and girder is being undertaken by the Delhi Metro in coordination with authorities of the Reliance Infra-led Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited that runs the line.
Nearly 500 of the 2,100 bearings were found to be faulty and the Delhi Metro in consultation with the Indian Railways has come out with specific designs to repair or replace the faulty bearings.
‘The 500 bearings would either be replaced or repaired according to their conditions. The work is expected to end by 20 September. Once we are done with the work, we will hand over the line to the concessionaire,’ said a top source.
This effectively means the line will miss its 31 August deadline set by the Union Urban Development Ministry when it had announced that the route was being temporarily closed down for operations. Re-starting of services would take at least a week from 20 September as the line has to undergo mandatory inspection by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety.
The CMRS would inspect the entire corridor before giving his nod for resumption of services.
The 23-km high-speed link was closed down temporarily on 8 July after the concessionaire found faults on the civil structure.
Since then, the Delhi Metro and Reliance Infra have been at loggerheads blaming each other for the fiasco. The source also said the Delhi Metro was currently incurring the expenses for repairing and replacing the faulty bearings.
The cost is likely to be realised from the contractor at a later stage. The government has also constituted a 2-member committee to fix responsibility on the issue.
The repair work on the bearings that serve as an interface between the pillar and girder is being undertaken by the Delhi Metro in coordination with authorities of the Reliance Infra-led Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited that runs the line.
Nearly 500 of the 2,100 bearings were found to be faulty and the Delhi Metro in consultation with the Indian Railways has come out with specific designs to repair or replace the faulty bearings.
‘The 500 bearings would either be replaced or repaired according to their conditions. The work is expected to end by 20 September. Once we are done with the work, we will hand over the line to the concessionaire,’ said a top source.
This effectively means the line will miss its 31 August deadline set by the Union Urban Development Ministry when it had announced that the route was being temporarily closed down for operations. Re-starting of services would take at least a week from 20 September as the line has to undergo mandatory inspection by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety.
The CMRS would inspect the entire corridor before giving his nod for resumption of services.
The 23-km high-speed link was closed down temporarily on 8 July after the concessionaire found faults on the civil structure.
Since then, the Delhi Metro and Reliance Infra have been at loggerheads blaming each other for the fiasco. The source also said the Delhi Metro was currently incurring the expenses for repairing and replacing the faulty bearings.
The cost is likely to be realised from the contractor at a later stage. The government has also constituted a 2-member committee to fix responsibility on the issue.