Railway Board shows green signal for Metro

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) can finally heave a sigh of relief as the Railway Board has reportedly cleared the contentious schedule of dimensions (SoD), and given its approval for the rolling stock.

A team of BMRCL directors were in New Delhi on Wednesday and it is said that they held meetings with the Board officials.

Although the clearance had not reached the BMRCL office officially, sources in the Board said: “Despite there being minor deviations from the SoD of tracks (at the curves) the clearance has been given, based on the advice of the Chief Commissioner for Railway Safety (CCRS) Pravin Kumar.”

Board member (engineering) A P Mishra, in-charge of Metro, was unavailable for comment, despite several attempts to contact him.

BMRCL spokesperson B L Y Chavan said: “Officially, we have not received any communication on this. But as soon as we get it, we will send the same to the CRS.”

28 shortcomings

The Corporation, besides sending the approval of both, SoD and rolling stock (Metro cars), to the CRS (D K Singh), will also have to send a compliance report with regard to the 28 shortcomings he had pointed out after his inspection last week.”

BMRCL MD N Sivasailam had told Deccan Herald on Tuesday: “Of the 28 observations made by the CRS, we have addressed 26. The other two are SoD and rolling stock approvals.”

Final safety certificate

Following this, Singh will send his recommendations to the Centre, which will in turn, send it to the Chief CCRS Pravin Kumar, the authority to grant the final safety certification.

Further, contrary to public announcements by politicians that the Reach-1 (Byappanahalli-MG Road) of the project could be commissioned on September 26 if the Prime Minister is available, the project cannot be inaugurated on the said day. Sources in the PMO have confirmed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not be in the country between September 21 and 27.