2 min readNew DelhiJan 15, 2014 03:31 AM IST
First published on: Jan 15, 2014 at 03:31 AM IST
In the six months since Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) took over operations and maintenance of Airport Metro from Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL), Delhi Metro has taken a host of measures to bring down losses on the line.
According to director of operations Sharat Sharma, “things are looking hopeful”, even though he refused to share precise numbers on how far losses had been reduced.
“DAMEPL stopped operating the line in July, at which point the operational losses from the line were almost Rs 5 crore per month, apart from the additional liabilities from loans worth Rs 16 crore per month. Since August 1, we have tried to bring down expenses and increase earnings,” Sharma said.
“We first reduced the manpower employed on the line to less than a third. The top management was removed and only the necessary operating staff was retained,” he said. “Second, we reduced our electrical costs. Two substations provided power to the line at the time, one at Park Street providing 5 MVA and the other at Dwarka providing 10 MVA. We took the one at Park Street under our wing and removed the other. With an increased power limit that we could draw and the bulk purchasing of power, we could save almost Rs 75 lakh per month,” he said.
Sharma said maintenance costs had also come down because it was done in-house instead of being outsourced. The number of trips trains take per day on the line have been increased from 146 to 166. DMRC has also aggressively advertised the line at hotels in Paharganj, Dwarka and Aerocity, Sharma said.
DAMEPL had suspended Airport Metro services in July 2012, citing defects in the structure built by DMRC. The services were resumed in January 2013 before DAMEPL decided to finally terminate the contract and stop services from July 1, 2013. DMRC then began running the line.
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