 "Delhi Metro risks going off the rails as expenses mount")
Given the mounting electricity bills and the fact that there has been no fare revision in the past seven years, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is headed for a bumpy ride. DMRC last revised fares in September 2009 when the minimum fare was raised to Rs 8 from Rs 6 earlier and maximum to Rs 30 from Rs 22.
Since then, the cost of electricity has gone up manifold. Cost of per-unit power in 2009-10 was Rs 3.21, which doubled to Rs 7.25 a unit in 2015-16.
DMRC’s energy expenditure in 2009-10 was Rs 83.2 crore, which rose to a whopping Rs 520.5 crore in 2015-16. DMRC consumes 65 per cent of energy for traction with 35 per cent consumed by other auxiliary services for various passenger facilities such as air conditioning, lighting, fire and hydraulics, lift escalators, etc.
Expenditure towards energy constitutes 38 per cent of DMRC’s total operational expenses. DMRC, which suffered a net loss of Rs 708.5 crore in 2015-16, has the liability of returning interest on loan, return of the principal and depreciation.
More than the losses, it is the burgeoning operating ratio that is a bigger cause of worry for DMRC. Its operating ratio was 54.8 per cent in 2009-10, which moved up to 69.4 per cent in 2015-16.
With the increase in network size and commuters, DMRC’s expenses have also risen exponentially. To curtail the expenses, the corporation has switched to solar power and set up solar panels to generate energy.
Currently, it is running trains in energy-saving mode, de-energising the idle trains, optimising the air-conditioning levels, etc.
But, these efforts might not be sufficient to sustain operations going forward, said an official.
DMRC is also taking steps to cut costs by rationalising staff expenses. Mechanised cleaning is being promoted to curtail staff on cleaning head. Expansion of its fleet is another inevitable part of DMRC and it is an ongoing process. DMRC has added 1,020 coaches since 2009-10 and 258 new ones will be added by December 2017.