Delhi airport Terminal T3 ready

Government of India is planning a bash to celebrate timely completion of Delhi airport Terminal T3. It is one of few Commonwealth Games project getting ready before the event in the face of massive co-ordination challenges. The aviation ministry has invited the country's top 22 bureaucrats including the cabinet secretary and secretaries of ministries of home, revenue, defence, external affairs, surface transport and the intelligence bureau chief to IGI Airport's new terminal (T3) as it has been completed with more than a little help from all of them and is now ready for a July 3 inauguration.

Aviation secretary M Nambiar has overseen the project progress and ensured coordination with scores of other government agencies along with DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi's sharp eye on operational aspects. According to ministry officials, the GMR-led Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) implemented the Rs 12,000-crore project in just 37 months.

"There were several issues that had the potential to derail this project. But the National Facilitation Council led by the cabinet secretary provided the meeting ground for varied stake holders and ensured that differences and hassles between the various departments were ironed out. So we thought having a thansksgiving at T3 would be ideal for the NCF's final meeting," said a top official.

Giving a sense of the task completed, he said a minimum of 1,000 trucks were required to ferry material to the site to bring five million tons of metal required to complete the project. Due to traffic restrictions on commercial vehicles in Delhi, these trucks used to come from 10pm to 6am when international traffic is at its peak.

Handling these trucks without causing hindrance to the passengers and vehicular traffic was a tough task, said an official.

The project faced interesting challenges like the one to relocate wildlife around the airport. DIAL had to take help from wildlife department for such matters.

IGI Delhi Metro link: Preview

In five months from now, Delhiites can bid adieu to unending jams on the way to the airport and haggling with cabbies.

They will reach the airport from Connaught Place (CP) in specially engineered super luxury Metro coaches, which promise a noise-free ride in a plush ambience, in all of 20 minutes.

The first lot of new trains arrived at Mundra port, Gujarat from Spain on Friday and are on their way to the Capital now. The special coaches have specially been designed for the showcase Airport Express Line, which is scheduled to open in September this year.

The new trains are very different from the existing ones running on the Delhi Metro network. These will have seating for all passengers and the seating is transverse — commuters will face the direction of movement of the train — for added comfort.

The interiors of the trains have been designed keeping commuter comfort in mind. The lighting is diffused, the seats upholstered, and each coach will have LCD screens for entertainment, which will double up as flight information boards for convenience of air travellers.

Even as the trains zip past the city at a speed of about 120 kmph (the designed speed is higher at 135 kmph), one will not feel any discomfort inside the coaches.

The trains are engineered to reach near-zero noise levels and all the components — flooring, insulated walls, windows — have in-built noise reduction features. The wheels too have added lubrication for less noise and better riding comfort. The train doors are plug-and-shut type, which shut after sliding out a bit and then move back into original position.

Those headed to the airport from town will have the choice of checking in their baggage at Metro stations which will double up as City Airport Terminals (CATs) for this line.

To secure the baggage, half a coach of every six-coach train will be reserved for baggage.

For commuters taking the Airport Express Link to reach the city, luggage racks have been provided in every coach where people can stack their baggage.

"The trains have been procured from City Airport Terminals, Spain, which is one of the leading manufacturers of high-speed Metros in the world. It has also supplied to Hong Kong Airport metro and London's Heathrow Express. The trains are being brought to Delhi by road and will be tested at the Dwarka depot," said KP Maheshwari, Director, Delhi Airport Metro Express (DAME) Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, which will operate the Airport Line.

The line will operate on Automated Train Operation (ATO) technology which enables trains to accelerate, brake, adjust speed and stop at stations automatically, in accordance with a pre-set schedule.

The trains can operate without a driver. Every coach will be equipped with CCTV cameras for added security and will also have an event recorder, a kind of a black box, which records every movement of the train.

This device, which can withstand high levels of temperature and impact, will help investigations in case of an accident.

The 23-km Airport Express Line is the first Delhi Metro line to come up on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. As per the agreement between Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Reliance Infrastructure Limited, the concessionaire of the project, DMRC will create all the civil structures — the viaduct, tunnels and station buildings, and hand it over to the latter.

The airport line will be developed and run by DAME Pvt Ltd for 30 years.

The good news is that the line will be operational before the Commonwealth Games. "The Airport Line will be better than anything that the city has seen till now. We are going to use the best technologies available around the world and are completing work on a warfooting to open the line by September this year," said Lalit Jalan, CEO and Wholetime Director, Reliance Infrastructure.

The construction of the civil structures is reportedly 90% complete and processes like signalling, electrification, track-laying is under way.

The line will provide a fast-link between New Delhi Railway Station and Dwarka via IGI, with a total of six stops on the way.

The fare will be kept at a maximum of Rs 150 to IGI and Rs 180 to Dwarka from New Delhi.

Body scanners at Delhi airport..!!

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Monday said that it is looking for the Government's clearance over installing body scanners at all airports.

The CISF is incharge of providing security at airports around the country.

The Bureau of Aviation Security and the Central Government have to clear the issues related to install body scanners.

Addressing media here, CISF Director General N R Das said the government and other agencies involved in the process have to take a conscious decision as a lot of ethical issues are involved.

Das also hinted that the body scanner could be made optional on the lines of security arrangements in US.

"This (body scanning) can also be made optional or as secondary scanning. As I came to know through internet that in US it's a secondary screening, only when frisking personnel expresses suspicion over a particular passenger then only he / she will be made to undergo body scanning," Das said.

Commenting on the same issue, CISF Additional Director General M S Bali, said the force is studying the technical report of scanners and a conscious decision would be taken very soon.

"Body scanners were installed in one of the terminus in Delhi as experiment. Now we have removed them. We are examining the technical report of these scanners and also consulting the experts in the field," Bali said.

He also added that a continuous evaluation of body scanning equipments would be conducted by the CISF before installing them.

The CISF has trained 3,000 personnel to operate body scanning machines.

Commenting on security in and around airports Das said the CISF is installing a perimeter security system at all airports to make them intrusion free.

"The steps are being taken to install perimeter security system in place, once it is put in place then the area would be made intrusion free," Das said.

Das said the CISF has imitated a programme " Lost and Found," under this materials of over 13.95 crore has been handed over to the owners or airport authorities.

"In the field of aviation security in the year 2009, the CISF has recovered unattended property worth Rs. 13.95 crore and handed over either to the rightful owners or to the Airport operators," Das said.

The CISF also put the details of the recovered unattended material on its website so as to inform the passengers about lost properties.

Court asks Delhi to reduce noise level around airport

The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to take 'immediate measures' to check noise pollution near the airport that is affecting people at a hospital and a residential area nearby.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Mukta Gupta said: 'Some immediate measures should be taken so that residents should not suffer.'

Additional Solicitor General A.S. Chandiok said: 'We are ready with long and short-term steps that we are planning to take to control noise pollution in the airport vicinity. And if the present trend continues there is a need to create a separate airport zone so as to lessen the noise level as prevalent in other countries.'

On the last date of hearing, the court had barred Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) from using two runways at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport after a nearby hospital alleged that the noise created by landing of planes disturbs its patients.

On Wednesday, DIAL requested the court to lift the ban on runways 29 and 11 as repair work has to start on runway 28.

'If we don't use runway number 29 and 11 and shut 28 then it will lead to massive chaos,' Rajiv Nayyar, counsel for DIAL said, adding that the capital has to gear up for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

However, the court did not issue any directions to that effect and asked the DGCA and DIAL to file a detailed affidavit as to how they plan to control noise pollution.

The court also asked the petitioners to file a rejoinder to the affidavit filed by the DGCA by March 10.

The Indian Spinal Injuries Centre had filed a petition, alleging that the noise created by landing aircraft, which fly at a low height of 200-300 feet, was disturbing patients.

'As a result of the thrust of the planes, patients constantly suffer from the immense noise pollution created by the planes. Sleeplessness is (experienced by them) on a regular basis. Even the doctors performing surgery have complained,' said the hospital.

The hospital said the noise created by the planes was usually between the range of 75 decibel to 94 decibel and was 'clearly beyond the stipulated standards laid down under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000'.

The court is also hearing a similar plea from residents of nearby Vasant Kunj locality, who have also complained of noise pollution.