REL leads bids for IGI metro link

Amidst reports that the Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Energy has emerged as the successful bidder for laying a metro line connecting Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport and the New Delhi railway station, the Rs 4,000-crore, 22-km-long ambitious plan is back in the limelight.

Though a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson said the bids received for the project were currently under evaluation and would be finalised only by next week, it showed the kind of attention the project has generated.

The airport link, which has been designed on the lines of the Heathrow link in London, would have five stations with six-coach trains running at a speed of 135 km per hour. The distance from Ajmeri Gate to IGI airport would be covered in just 15 minutes, while the fare is estimated to be around Rs 100.

The terminating station would be set up in international terminal 3 of the airport. The project is supposed to be over by mid-2010, prior to the Commonwealth Games.

There would be check-in facilities at two of the five metro stations, at the New Delhi railway station and Shivaji Stadium bus terminus, according to Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials. The project is part of the second phase of the sprawling Delhi Metro network.

It is not yet decided whether this facility will be for national or international passengers.

However, passengers would be able to hand over their luggage at the check-in counter at the originating metro station. After reaching the IGI airport station, they would be able to directly go for security check, where their luggage would automatically be transferred.

The Ajmeri Gate-IGI Airport standalone line is to be managed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. DMRC officials say while the cost of all civil works like construction of stations, tunnels and viaducts would be borne by the Centre and the Delhi government on a 50:50 ratio, the cost of electrification, acquisition of coaches, and operational costs would be undertaken by a private party.

The private party would bear these expenses and manage the operations of trains for about 30 years. Also, the revenue generated by the party would have to be shared with DMRC on a 50:50 basis.