A heavy crowd of passengers at the Delhi Metro’s Rajiv Chowk station. (Sunil Saxena/HindustanTimes via Getty Images)The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government has sought an explanation from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) over the proposal to purchase 150 metro rail coaches, Metro Rail News has reported.
In two letters to the director of DMRC’s Business Development Director, the government has sought details and background of the long pending proposal. The procurement of these coaches will enable Delhi Metro to convert all of its remaining six-coach trains on the Yellow, Blue, and Red lines to eight-coach trains.
The revision of the plan several times over the past few months has lead to ‘confusion’ according to an official who spoke to Metro Rail News. “Also, the situation has changed drastically after the fare hike. The DMRC had estimated that 40 lakh people would use its network after the commissioning of Phase III, but it is clear that the target is not going to be met anytime soon,” the official said.
The government is likely to approve the demand as it has been listed for discussion in the cabinet meeting. The original proposal dates back to 2015 when the demand for coaches was 916.
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