Delhi Metro: A comprehensive analysis

It provides with a brief of Delhi Metro with emphasis on profitability, history, operation mechanism, construction and expansion, funding and it's challenges.

1. DELHI METRO A Case Study on

2. A BRIEF HISTORY The concept of a mass rapid transit for New Delhi first emerged from a traffic and travel characteristics study which was carried out in the city in 1969. Government of India and the Government of Delhi jointly set up a company called the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on 3 May 1995, with E. Sreedharan as the managing director . DMRC was given full powers to hire people, decide on tenders and control funds to avoid delays and time lags. The first line of the Delhi Metro was inaugurated by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Prime Minister of India, on 24 December 2002.

3. CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION The project was initially rolled out in two phases and now it has been extended up to Phase V. Phase I A total of 65 kilometers (40 mi) long network with 58 stations and the following 3 routes (initial parts of Red, Yellow and Blue lines) were built within the limits of Delhi state, stations progressively started to open for the from 25 December 2002 to 11 November 2006.

4. Phase II A total of 124.63 kilometers (77.44 mi) long network with 85 stations and the following 10 new routes and extensions was built, out of which seven routes are extension spurs of the Phase I network, three were new color-coded lines and three routes connect to other cities (Yellow Line to Gurugram, Blue Line to Noida and Blue Line to Ghaziabad) of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.  The stations progressively started to open for the from 3 June 2008 to 27 August 2011. The Airport Express line running from New Delhi Railway Station to Dwarka Sector 21, linking the Indira Gandhi International Airport was also introduced. Phase III Work on Phase III started in 2011 , with 2016 being the planned deadline, and the actual work to be completed in 2017-18 . While the earlier phases focused on expansion, phase III focuses on reducing the congestion and improving the connectivity by adding 11 extensions to the existing lines as well as building ring lines (Pink and Magenta lines).

5. Phase IV Phase IV has a 2022 deadline .   In January 2017, the Delhi Government approved the Phase IV plan. In July 2017, the Delhi cabinet granted the final approval to the INR 50,000 crore plan in July 2017 on a 50:50 equity basis with the union government. It will add 103 kilometers (64 mi) long route within Delhi. It also has a Sonipat Metro extension path through Yellow Line to connect Delhi to Sonipat. Other plans of extension to different parts of Haryana and UP are still pending approval. Phase V Ex-chief of DMRC stated that by the time Phase IV is completed, the city will need Phase V to cope with rising population and transport needs . There is still no official approval of Phase V from DMRC.

6. AIRPORT EXPRESS LINE The 22.7 km line, also known as the Orange line was opened on 23 February 2011 after missing four previously set deadlines . It was built at a cost of ₹57 billion, of which Reliance Infra paid ₹28.85 billion. The line has facilities such as Check In, Baggage Handles, Wi-Fi and Post Office. The trains on this line are of a premium standard and have in-built noise reduction features for a noise-free ride with padded fabric seats . The coaches are equipped with LCD screens for entertainment of the passengers and also provide flight information for convenience of air travelers. Service was suspended from 7 July 2012 to 22 January 2013 due to technical problems . After reopening, the speed was cut to only 50 km/ hr , extending the journey time from the airport to New Delhi Station to over 40 minutes.

7. On 27 June 2013 Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. announced to DMRC that they are unable to operate the line beyond 30 June 2013. Following this, DMRC took over operations of Airport Express line from 1 July 2013. DMRC reinstated the 80 km/ hr speeds on the line in mid-2014. In January 2015, DMRC reported that the Airport Metro has recorded about 30 per cent rise in its ridership following the fare reduction of up to 40% in last July.

8. ROLLING STOCK The Metro uses rolling stock of two different gauges . Phase I lines use 1,676 mm (5.499 ft ) broad gauge rolling stock, while three Phase II lines use 1,435 mm (4.708 ft ) standard gauge rolling stock. For Phase III , 486 coaches (81 six-car trains) are being procured for two new lines which will have advance feature of Unattended Train Operation (UTO ). Eight 6-car trains supplied by CAF Beasain were imported from Spain for the orange line. CAF held 5% equity in the DAME project, and Reliance Infrastructure held the remaining 95% before DMRC took over the operations.

9. FUNDING The total cost incurred for the metro ranged from Rs . 10,571 crores in Phase I to Rs.41,079 crores in Phase III. According to DMRC reports, a large part of the funding came in the form of soft loans from the Japanese Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). These loans accounted for approximately 60% of the total funding in Phase I and 48% in Phase III . 33% of the funding comes from equity shares contributed by both the Government of India and the state government and the rest was financed from property development such as ATM’s, Food Outlets, etc.

10. For the construction of the Airport Express link , the Government of India and Delhi contributed 39% of the funding and the concessionaires Reliance Infrastructure and CAF Spain contributed 46%. The private partners, however, abandoned the project a year into the construction as the rate of return was very low. Delhi Metro recently revised the fare rates after almost 6 years to overcome the increasing operating cost, tariff rate hike and interest payments. The revision was approved by the Fare Fixation Committee.

11. KEY HIGHIGHTS The first phase of the project was completed in 2006 , on budget and almost three years ahead of schedule , an achievement described by Business Week as "nothing short of a miracle“. The Delhi Metro has seen an enormous increase in ridership over the last 13 years and currently holds a record of the highest-ever ridership this year — about 25 lakh people in a single day . The Delhi Metro has high satisfaction rate among it’s customers and increasing technological advancements like mechanized ticket booths. Also, it introduced a women's compartment in every train to ensure women safety. Delhi Metro is the world's 12th longest metro system in length and 16th largest in ridership.

12. Security on the Delhi Metro is handled by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), who have been guarding the system ever since they took over from the Delhi Police in 2007. For the convenience of customers, Delhi Metro commuters have three choices for ticket purchase.  The trains operate at a frequency of one to two minutes to five to ten minutes between 05:00 and 00:00, depending upon the peak and off-peak hours. Trains operating within the network typically travel at speed up to 50 km/h (31 mph), and stop for about 20 seconds at each station.

13. CHALLENGES H igh ridership in new trains have led to increasing instances of overcrowding and delays on the Delhi Metro . Their have been multiple instances of technical snags which leaves many passenger's stranded. Delhi Metro staff members almost went on strike on 23 Jul’17 to solve the issue of hike in pay. Land acquisition problems due to amendment in the Land Bill.

14. ENVIRONMENT AND AESTHETICS The Delhi Metro has won awards for environmentally friendly practices from organizations including the United Nations, RINA, and the International Organization for Standardization, becoming the second metro in the world, after the New York City Subway, to be ISO 14001 certified for environmentally friendly construction. Most of the Metro stations on the Blue Line conduct rainwater harvesting as an environmental protection measure. It is also the first railway project in the world to earn carbon credits and has so far earned 400,000 carbon credits by saving energy through the use of regenerative braking systems on its trains. DMRC is looking forward to harness solar energy and install solar panels at the stations. Many Metro stations have artwork and literature display to promote the culture.

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