JOIN USMetro Reach 3, 3A may not keep their Nov deadline
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s (BMRCL) hope of starting commercial operations on the Reach 3, 3A by November 30 may finally be dashed with the Metro officials yet to submit their application to the Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS) for conducting the mandatory safety tests which take at least a month to be completed.
During one of their recent inspections of the underground stretch, the BMRCL authorities had announced that by the end of November the commercial operations will begin on the 9.9-kilometre stretch between Malleswaram and Peenya.
Officials from the office of the Commissioner for Railway Safety confirmed that till date they have not yet received the necessary documents from the BMRCL for them to begin the work.
In any case, after receiving the documents the CRS will thoroughly study them and may ask for certain clarifications like it did at the time of conducting the safety tests for Reach 1 between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli.
Only after the paper work is found satisfactory, the CRS will conduct the mandatory safety tests. Without the tests and positive results, the commercial operations cannot begin, said an official from the office of CRS.
On the other hand, BMRCL officials are still confident that necessary approvals and the formalities will be done in the stipulated time frame.
“We are confident that all the formalities will be completed and there would be no further delay,” said BMRCL MD Pradeep Singh Kharola.
As of now, the Railway Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), under the Ministry of Railways, has done the certification. But the actual operations depend entirety on the oscillatory test by the CRS.