Bangalore: ‘Clearances delaying Metro’

DHNS

• Won’t be held up even by a day after all approvals are given: Sivasailam

 

Bangalore, 26 July 2011: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is as eager as the residents of the City to see the first Metro car ferry passengers from Byappanahalli to MG Road, BMRCL Managing Director N Sivasailam said on Monday.

 

Dogged by criticism for having missed several deadlines over the years, the BMRCL’s biggest issue since December last has been obtaining certification to begin commercial operations on Reach-1 (Byappanahalli-MG Road).

 

Sivasailam said the Corporation had complied with all the necessary requirements. “The Metro won’t be delayed even by a day after all the clearances have been given,” he said without commenting on why the certification authorities and the Centre were delaying the process.

 

India’s ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan had, during his previous visit to Bangalore, said: “...a day’s delay in Bangalore Metro is costing at least Rs 50 lakh to the exchequer.”

 

Working diligently

 

BMRCL, Sivasailam claimed, had been working diligently towards implementing Bangalore’s most-awaited public transport project. And officials from BMRCL claimed the delays were not necessarily caused only by the Corporation.

 

BMRCL has completed service trials of the trains and all of them have run for over 2,500-km, as mandated, in order to avail the required certification.

 

“...Soon after the RDSO’s (Research Designs and Standards Organisation) final report reaches the Centre, we will have permission to invite the Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS) who will inspect the project and declare it safe or otherwise,” Sivasailam said.

 

He was speaking at Defence PSU Bharat Earth Movers Limited’s (BEML) factory near Thippasandra, where BEML Chairman V R S Natarajan handed over the keys of the first “made-in-India” Metro coaches to him.

 

Standard gauge

 

The coaches will be in standard gauge of 1435-mm and three cars will constitute one train set with an option of converting the same to a six-car configuration.

 

The length of the train will be 65.2 metres with the ability to run at a maximum speed of 85 kmph and will be powered with 750 volt DC.

 

In terms of the safety features, the train will be equipped with a variable voltage frequency traction drive system, automatic door opening and closing, and CCTV surveillance system.

 

Life-long partnership

 

BEML will, in a phased manner, hand over about 150 cars to BMRCL as part of the order it had bagged in February 2009.

 

Briefing the media, Natarajan expressed confidence in meeting all the expectations that the BMRCL might have from BEML and said: “...We want this to be a life-long partnership.”

 

BMRCL will now test all the trains delivered to it before commissioning it for travel.

 

‘Campaign won’t speed up work’

 

Sivasailam, while exuding confidence that Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) will live up to people’s expectations, said: “An English daily running a ‘campaign’ will not help speed up the work.”

 

As a project manager, “I know how my team is working and only that will deliver the results. The train will not be delayed even by a day after we get the clearance,” he said.

 

He pointed out that the work on all the other reaches were picking up speed and that  Reach-3 will be inaugurated by the end of next year.

 

Deccan Herald had reported earlier that the other reaches on phase 1 of Namma Metro project will face fewer hurdles as the Corporation would have gained more expertise in executing the project more efficiently.