Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon

History

A 3.2 km metro line between Sikanderpur and National Highway 8 was originally proposed in September 2007. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) invited expressions of interest to construct the metro line on built-operate-transfer basis with a 99 year lease in 2008. However, real estate developer DLF wanted to provide metro connectivity to its Cyber City. A new tender was issued in July 2008, with the DLF-IL&FS consortium emerging as the only bidder. The project was initially conceived as a collaborative venture between DLF and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), a subsidiary of the Saudi Binladin Group. But DLF, facing financial problems, pulled out and IL&FS became the sole owner. The venture thus does not have any investment by the Union Government, Haryana government or any public sector undertaking. Rapid Metro did not even get the 20 acres of land, which it required to construct the first phase of the project, at any concessional rate from the state.

Rapid Metro is the first fully privately financed metro system in the world. The project was implemented as a public-private partnership. The entire cost of the project was borne by the private party and the Haryana Government only provided right of way on lease hold basis. The private party was also tasked with maintenance and operation of the metro at its own cost. While HUDA initially objected to a private company making profit from public transport, an agreement was eventually reached for the consortium to pay HUDA ₹7.65 billion (US$113.7 million) over 35 years in "connectivity charges" as well as 5–10% of advertising and property development revenue.

The contract for the ₹9 billion (US$133.7 million) project was awarded in July 2009, with completion scheduled in 30 months' time. The foundation stone was laid on 11 August 2009. The line was built and is operated by Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Limited (RMGL). The project was estimated to cost ₹10.88 billion (US$161.7 million) as of October 2012.

Originally planned to open in 2012, the first phase of the system opened on 14 November 2013.

Phase II

On 11 June 2013, IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Limited informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had been awarded a contract worth ₹ 266.5 crores to construct the elevated viaducts for Phase 2 of the project. The company also stated that the project would be completed within 24 months. The company was later awarded a contract worth ₹ 84.3 crore to construct all 5 elevated stations in Phase II. The project completion period was specified as 24 months. The southward extension will be 7 km long and will extend from Sikanderpur to Sector 55 and 56 in Gurgaon. It is estimated to cost ₹2,143 crore (US$320 million). There will be six stations on the extension and it will take around 20 minutes to travel the entire route. Land for the project and right of way will be provided by HUDA. Trial runs were held on the first phase of the metro, between Phase 2 and Phase 3 stations, on October 2012. On the same day, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh laid the foundation stone for Phase 2 of the project.

Construction work on Phase 2 began in April 2013, and was given an initial deadline of July 2015. However, the deadline was later revised to mid-2016, September 2016 and then the last quarter of 2016. By June 2016, 75% of work on the Phase 2 was complete. Trial runs were conducted along the 6.3-km Phase-2 route between in December 2016. Phase 2 expected to be operational by April 2017.

Phase III

Under the third phase, there are various proposals for a north extension to Gurgaon Railway Station via Udyog Vihar and Atul Kataria Chowk. Also, many want the line to be extended till the Airport Express Line, that runs between Dwarka Sector 21 and New Delhi via Maruti Udyog and Kapashera Border. This proposed line would benefit the residents of both Old and New Gurgaon. The further expansion of the Rapid Metro will be done in a well planned manner, which will bifurcate or be developed into various extensions like the Delhi Metro, which can cover the important section of Gurgaon region like Sohna road (to an interchange with upcoming Yellow line extension to Manesar), Dwarka Expressway (to an interchange with upcoming Delhi Metro Line from Gurgaon to Dwarka), Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, Pataudi Road, Farrukhnagar, Airport Road, Northern and Southern Peripheral Road, Basai Chowk and Rajiv Chowk.

Phase I

The Rapid Metro was built in several phases. The first phase of the project covers a distance of 5.1 km. The section between Sikanderpur and Phase 2 station is double-tracked, while the remaining stations are served by a single-track loop. Platforms are 75m in length.

Sikanderpur station offers an interchange with Delhi Metro via a 90m x 9m walkway. A depot is located between Micromax Moulsari Avenue and Phase 3 stations.

Phase II

The second phase is a 7 km long southward extension from Sikanderpur to Sector 55 and 56 in Gurgaon.

Infrastructure

The system is fully elevated and operated automatically. Because of the features, several articles in railway magazines define the system as Light Metro.

Rolling stock

On 21 April 2010, Siemens announced that it had been awarded a turnkey contract to build the metro line, including five 3-car metro trains. Siemens sub-contracted CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Works to build the 5 aluminium-bodied air-conditioned trains. The first three-coach train set built in China, arrived in Gurgaon on 11 September 2012. RMGL ordered an additional 7 train sets for the second phase expansion of the metro. The final 4 of these 7 rakes arrived in Gurgaon on 5 February 2016.

Each train with 3 coaches costs ₹300 million (US$4.5 million) and is silver and blue in colour. The total length of a 3 coach train is 59.94 metres (196.7 ft). The coaches are 2.8 metres (9.2 ft) wide, have roof-mounted air conditioning and have 4 doors on each side of each coach. Each train has a capacity of approximately 800 passengers. The metro is designed to carry 30,000 passengers per hour.

Operator

The line was built and is operated by Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Limited (RMGL), founded as a joint venture between real estate developer DLF and IL&FS. DLF owns many properties near the stations, while IL&FS was the majority stake holder in the JV. DLF later sold its stake to IL&FS, and exited the joint venture. Following the transaction, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL) held 82.8% stake in RMGL, and ITNL's subsidiary IL&FS Rail Ltd (IRL) held 18.2%. On 11 February 2016, ITNL announced that it had sold a 49% stake in RMGL for ₹509.9 crore (US$76 million) to its parent company, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), in an effort to reduce debt.

Ticketing

The Rapid Metro charges a flat rate of ₹20 (30¢ US) for the entire line. Delhi Metro tokens and smart cards are accepted on Rapid Metro. The automatic fare collection system is supplied by Thales Group.

Frequency

Trains run from 06:05 to 00:36. Three-coach trains operate at 4-minute intervals. Trains have a maximum speed of 80 km/h, and operate at an average speed of 40 km/h.

Safety

For the passengers' safety, there are Emergency Stop Plungers at every platform, while the Blue Light Station feature enables passengers to contact the Control Room. A Press to Talk Button inside the coaches enables commuters to talk directly to the driver, in the event of any problem.

Security

Security in the Rapid Metro is being handled by PEREGRINE, a private security agency. The system has a dedicated Metro Police Station at Sikanderpur station. Women's Help Desks are located at all five stations, while a Toll Free Helpline (+91-124-2800028) for all passengers is operational for 24 hours. CCTV cameras are used to monitor trains and stations.