French award for Delhi Metro rail chief

     New Delhi: New Delhi's metro rail chief, E Sreedharan, received France's top civilian award, Knight of the Legion of Honor, on Tuesday evening for his outstanding contribution in the field of transport infrastructure in the country. E Sreedharan, who took over the Delhi Metro rail in 1997, is responsible for actualizing the state-of-the-art metro rail in Delhi. He was also recognized for his contribution in planning and designing the first ever metro rail in Kolkata between 1971 and 1974. E Sreedharan was presented the prestigious award in recognition of his enormous contribution to Indian transport by the French ambassador to India, Dominique Girard, in New Delhi. "It is one of the most prestigious awards because this is an award coming from outside a country. France is a very great nation. The greatness of a nation lies in recognizing good development and good work being done outside a country," said E Sreedharan. Sreedharan's relation with France spans for more than a decade when he recognized the technical expertise of the country in the Parisian metro.

     The metro rail in New Delhi currently runs 27 kilometres in its three planned sections - level, elevated tracks and underground, and was built at a cost of 1.7 billion dollars. Costing 506 million dollars, a 6.3 kilometre-long tunnel connects the heart of the city with the old city quarters. About 130,000 people, or one percent of the Indian capital Delhi's population, currently use the metro rail. Sreedharan assured the safety of passengers travelling on Delhi metro rail. "We have taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of people travelling in the metro, that they are safe from terrorist attacks. We have got a very rigid screening at every point, CCTVs (closed circuit televisions) in most vital areas and video surveillance done at every station," he said. The slick city railway has already eased some pressure on Delhi's overloaded road transport. The Delhi Metro, first conceived in the 1950s but delayed by political and bureaucratic wrangles, is expected to carry more than two million people a day after its network expands to 70 km by March 2006. The service features automatic ticketing, state-of-the-art signaling and telecommunications, stations with escalators and tight security. Fares are in the moderate range of six rupees to 14 rupees, with the metro rail raising part of revenue by leasing out shopping, advertisement and parking space at stations. It imposes strong penalties for littering, vandalism and violation of safety rules.