Gurugram Rapid Metro is a light rapid transit system serving the city of Gurugram, Haryana, India. The system provides interchange with the Delhi Metro's Yellow Line at Sikandarpur Metro Station. Rapid Metro has a total length of 11.7 kilometres serving 11 stations. The system is fully elevated using standard-gauge tracks. Rapid Metro connects the commercial areas of Gurgaon, and acts as a feeder link to the Delhi Metro. Built and operated by Rapid Metro Gurgaon Limited, the system was the world's first fully privately financed modern metro system. The venture does not have any investment from the Union Government, Government of Haryana or any public sector undertaking. Services operate daily between 06:05 and 22:00 running with a headway of 4 minutes. The trains are composed of three cars. The power is supplied by 750 voltdirect current through third rail. The metro system was the first in India to auction naming rights for its stations. In September 2019, IL&FS announced that it does not have the resources to continue running the Rapid Metro due to financial issues with the company and is looking for another entity for to fund and takeover operations. After a short dispute with the Haryana government and a court ruling from the Punjab and Haryana High Court the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will take over the operation of the line from IL&FS. Originally planned to open in 2012, the first phase of the system opened on 14 November 2013. The second phase of the project began commercial operation on 31 March 2017.
History
A 3.2 km metro line between Sikanderpur and National Highway 8 was originally proposed in September 2007. The Haryana Urban Development Authority invited expressions of interest to construct the metro line on built-operate-transfer basis with a 99-year lease in 2008. However, real estate developerDLF 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 Enso Group, DLF and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services. 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 modern metro system in the world. However, it was not the first fully privately financed rapid transit system, as the Metropolitan Railway was privately financed. The Rapid Metro 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 l ease 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 over 35 years in "connectivity charges" as well as 5–10% of advertising and property development revenue. The contract for the 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 Metro Gurgaon Limited. The project was estimated to cost 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 is 6.6 km long double track and will extend from Sikanderpur to Sector 55 and 56 in Gurgaon. It is estimated to cost. There are 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. Rapid Metro authorities applied for inspection of phase II by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety in March 2017. The second phase of the system was opened to the public on 31 March 2017.
Route
The Rapid Metro was built in several phases. The first phase of the project covers a distance of 5.1 km north of Sikanderpur. The section between Sikanderpur and Phase 2 station is double-tracked, while the remaining stations are served by a single-track loop. The second phase is a 6.6 km long southward extension from Sikanderpur to Sector 55 and 56 of Gurgaon and mostly runs through the affluent Golf Course Road. This section of a line opened on 31 March 2017 partially till Sector 53-54. The 2 remaining stations till Sector 55-56 opened on 25 April 2017. Platforms are 75m in length. Sikanderpur station offers an interchange with Delhi Metro via a 90m x 9m walkway.
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 CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive 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 seven 3-car metro 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 and is silver and blue in colour. The total length of a 3 coach train is. The coaches are 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.
Operations
Operator
The line was built and is operated by Rapid Metro Gurgaon Limited, founded as a joint venture between Enso group, 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 held 82.8% stake in RMGL, and ITNL's subsidiary IL&FS Rail Ltd held 17.2%. On 11 February 2016, ITNL announced that it had sold a 49% stake in RMGL for to its parent company, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd, in an effort to reduce debt. The Rapid Metro charges are flat rate only in travelling at any stations of Phase-1 line & Phase-2 line stations separately, but travelling form Phase-1 line to Phase-2 line or vice-versa the charges are. Delhi Metro tokens and smart cards are accepted on Rapid Metro. The automatic fare collection system is supplied by Thales Group.
Ridership
of the Rapid Metro has been below expectations. Phase 1 was expected to bring 100,000 riders per day, but only achieved 30,000, and even after the addition of Phase 2, daily ridership in 2018 hovered around the 50,000 mark. Urban Transport News has described the Rapid Metro as a "failure" due to its high cost, low ridership and poor location.
Frequency
Trains run from 06:05 to 22:00 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 a private security agency. The system has a dedicated Metro Police Station at Sikanderpur station, while a Toll Free Helpline for all passengers is operational for 24 hours. CCTV cameras are used to monitor trains and stations.
Future plans
Phase III
Following the opening of Phase II, IL&FS Rail Ltd managing director and CEO Rajiv Banga stated that plans for the third phase of the metro were at the "drawing board-level". Banga stated that authorities were considering a 17-km-long line from Cyber City to Gurgaon Railway Station via Bus stand and Sadar Bazar in Old City passing through Udyog Vihar along Old Delhi Road And Railway Road. This extension will be a big relief for Old Gurgaon people because this line will have a numerous and future interchange station like Swarka-Iffco Chowk Metro interchange at Old Delhi Road near Maruti Suzuki and another at Gurgaon Railway Station with yellow line extension of Huda City Centre to Sector 23 Palam Vihar via Hero Honda Chowk, Sector 10 and Gurgaon Railway Station And one more interchange at Sector 4-7 Chowk with pod taxi running between Rajiv Chowk Badshahpur pod taxi up to Sector 4-7 Chowk
