New Delhi, Nov. 11: Real estate firm DLF plans to build and run its own metro rail in Gurgaon, the first such private initiative in the country.

The last such privately owned rail service was that of Martin Burn Light Railway, which was nationalised in the 1970s. DLF will construct the line from Sikanderpur Chowk station to its Mall of India project on National Highway 8, along the Delhi-Gurgaon border.

The DLF project will, therefore, provide feeder service to the Delhi-Gurgaon metro line being constructed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. Sikanderpur Chowk is the last station of the proposed Delhi-Gurgaon metro line.

The investment for the 4-kilometre stretch will be Rs 350-400 crore.

The construction will start early next year and is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

The Delhi-Gurgaon metro will also be completed around that time.

The real estate developer has opted for the light rail transit system that can carry 30,000 passengers every hour. DLF wants to create its own metro to ensure better connectivity for people who live in its townships.

DLF has hired C.B.K. Rao, the director (projects and planning) of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, as its advisor.

“The Gurgaon metro service is going to be completely automatic. It will not have any drivers,” sources said. Moreover, the metro rail will run on an elevated corridor as the underground system will be more expensive.

Railway consulting agency RITES has been appointed to conduct a feasibility report on the project.

DLF expects to break even in the next three years. The company is in talks with the Haryana government to acquire some land for the project. Haryana is also likely to supply electricity for the metro line.

The Delhi-based developer plans to tie up with global railway equipment vendors to source automatic metro rail systems, which it says will be more sophisticated than that used by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

DLF also plans to build metros in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore where it is developing townships.

The company has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,018.55 crore and a total revenue of Rs 3,349.24 crore for the quarter ended September 30.

For the half year ended September 30, the company reported a net profit of Rs 3,534 crore and a total revenue of Rs 6,470.22 crore.

The company has also declared a 100 per cent interim dividend.