The Delhi government on Wednesday appointed Vikas Kumar as the managing director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), according to an official order.
Kumar, who is Director (Operations) in the corporation, will hold the post for a term of five years, said the order issued by Transport Department of the Delhi government.
"The Government of NCT of Delhi is pleased to appoint Vikas Kumar as managing director (MD) of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. in accordance with terms of Article 130 of the Memorandum and Article of Association of DMRC Ltd. for the period of five years with effect from April 1," said the order.
The appointment of Kumar as the new managing director of the DMRC was approved by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the order said.
Kumar, an officer of the 1988-batch of the Indian Railway Traffic Service, prior to this was appointed as as Director (Operations) early December 2021. He is an electrical engineering graduate from IIT-Roorkee (1987) and did his M.Tech from IIT-Delhi in 1989.
Delhi Transport minister Kailash Gahlot tweeted about his appointment to the top post. "Heartiest congratulations & best wishes to Sh. Vikas Kumar on being appointed as the new MD of @OfficialDMRC. The metro is Delhi's lifeline and I hope that DMRC, under your capable guidance, continues to set new benchmarks in top quality public transport," he wrote on Twitter and shared a copy of the order dated March 30, 2022.
Kumar will succeed Mangu Singh, whose tenure ends on March 31. Singh's tenure as MD of DMRC had begun from January 1, 2012 after his predecessor E Sreedharan had handed over charge to him on December 31, 2011.
Delhi Metro, under Singh's leadership had endeavoured to put it back on track after being hit severely by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns. Singh's tenure as the managing director of the mass rapid transit system had been extended multiple times.
The DMRC network's current span is nearly 392 km with 286 stations (including the Noida-Greater Noida Metro Corridor and Rapid Metro, Gurgaon).
Singh has contributed greatly in the project implementation of metros in Delhi and Kolkata and has been responsible for bringing revolutionary changes in the execution of large metro engineering projects (civil) within tight deadlines and budget, and is considered the foremost tunneling expert, the DMRC had earlier said.
A Bijnor native, he is a graduate in civil engineering from the University of Roorkee (now IIT-Roorkee). Thereafter, he became part of the Indian Railways Services of Engineers (IRSE) in 1981.
Singh then joined the Indian Railways and has worked in various capacities including as deputy chief engineer, Kolkata Metro Railway (1989-1996). Thereafter, he became part of the Indian Railways Services of Engineers (IRSE) in 1981.
