Suspension of services on showcase line a blot on Metro's safety record

How safe is the Delhi Metro? This appeared to be the most pertinent question in the minds of lakhs of metro commuters after the announcement of suspension of the high-speed airport metro service from Sunday due to major damages identified on the elevated track. Subhendu Ray reports.

This appeared to be the most pertinent question in the minds of lakhs of metro commuters after the announcement of suspension of the high-speed airport metro service from Sunday due to major damages identified on the elevated track.

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There was a significant drop in the number of commuters on airport metro as well on Saturday – the last day of service – before it gets suspended for repair works.

Delhi Metro chief, Mangu Singh, however, assured that there was absolutely no problem with any tracks of Delhi Metro. "We periodically inspect our tracks and other components of the civil construction," he said.

Sources indicated that taking cue from the problems on its showcase line, the DMRC has decided to constitute a team of experts to thoroughly check the condition of tracks, bearings, girders and pillars across the network.

In a span of over a decade, this is the second time when safety of metro commuters due to faulty design of civil structure has been questioned. Earlier, in 2009 six people were killed in Zamrudpur when an under-construction metro pillar collapsed.

Last year a panel of experts from IIT, Roorkee, submitted a report blaming 'faulty design' of civil construction for the collapse of the pillar at Zamrudpur.