File photo of Delhi metro.
Ending months of wait, Delhi Metro's ITO station is expected to be thrown open to commuters next month with the safety inspection scheduled for the first week of June.
The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety would carry out safety inspection "tentatively on June 2" and metro services between Mandi House and ITO would be launched soon after, "provided he gives the green signal".
"It all depends on his report. If the report is positive then operations would commence immediately as is the norm but if he points out something that needs to be worked upon then further delay can occur," sources said.
Recently, the Urban Development Ministry amended and notified changes to the Metro Railway General Rules, 2013 to allow operations on single-line sections, which was a major stumbling block in operationalising the line.
The construction work on the single-line Mandi House-ITO section was completed in January this year. But operations on this 971-metre section could not be started as safety inspection could not be carried out as per provisions of the Metro Railway General Rules.
The UD Ministry held several rounds of discussions with the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the Ministry of Civil Aviation which is the controlling authority of CRS, Ministry of Railways and experts to resolve the issue.
The move is expected to benefit 22,000 passengers daily to begin with and 31,000 by 2021 enhancing DMRC's annual revenue by Rs 8 crore.