Are you waiting for your city’s first metro? Till all the necessary certificates are in place, you will have to wait.

Delay in transfer of the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) metro rail from under the Indian Tramway Act, 1886 to the Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978 has led to certifications hitting a dead end. Impact of this will directly be felt on the commissioning, which is now likely to be pushed to the first quarter of 2014.

The ‘Corridor Notification’, which will formally transfer the 11-km-long corridor, is pending. Unless that is issued, the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) won’t issue their certificates to the Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL), the special purpose vehicle constructing the project.

As per the legal provisions under the Indian Tramway Act, certifications from RDSO for safety, speed trial, braking, oscillation, system integration among other things can’t be achieved.

Similarly, even CMRS won’t issue a certificate — tests under the CMRS include structure safety, signages, communication, control room, emergency situation, fire safety, system integration and electrical.

UPS Madan, commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), said, “It is now up to the central or state government to issue ‘Corridor Notification’. The state’s urban development department has approached the central government.”

“All metro rails are under the Metro Railways Act, 1978. But for the VAG corridor some notification, either by the central or state government is needed, and it will happen soon,” added Madan.

An MMOPL spokesperson said, “Metro Act is a critical requirement for implementation and operation of Mumbai Metro. Expeditious action by government on issuance of the notification will be key for timely completion of the project. We are hopeful that the government or MMRDA will resolve the matter at the earliest.”

Versova-Ghatkopar line hits cert hurdleUnless the ‘Corridor Notification’ is issued, Research Design and Standards Organisation and Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety won’t issue their certificates to the Mumbai Metro One Private Limited. And unless these certificates are issued, the metro can’t start operating