Big boon for Delhi and NCR residents! The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is all set to open three new corridors, with a combined length of around 50 km by the end of this month. The launch of new corridors will also mark the completion of the Delhi Metro’s Phase-III project. According to a TOI report, these new corridors include the much-awaited stretch of Pink Line- 9.7 km section linking Lajpat Nagar to Mayur Vihar Pocket-1. Once this section is thrown open to the public, the entire Pink Line will be 59 km long. Then, only the stretch of 1.4 km between Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 and Trilokpuri of Pink Line would be left.
With the Lajpat Nagar-Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 section, people in east Delhi will find it easier to travel to big markets in South Delhi such as Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, INA and South Extension. The section will also provide crucial access to the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station. The section will also have an interchange facility at Mayur Vihar 1, connecting Pink Line and Blue line.
The other two new Delhi Metro corridors that are likely to open by the end of this month are the 9.4 km long section between Dilshad Garden and New Bus Adda extension of Red Line as well as the 29.7 km long Aqua Line of Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC). The Dilshad Garden-New Bus Adda section of Red Line will be the second Delhi Metro line in Ghaziabad after Vaishali. It will also connect the interior parts of the city. With the opening of this section, connectivity from Mohan Nagar to Dilshad Garden is also likely to improve. Anuj Dayal, executive director (corporate communications), DMRC was quoted in the report saying that the construction of this corridor was very challenging as it runs along the busy GT Road, which has non-stop traffic through the day.
According to Dayal, trials on Dilshad Garden-New Bus Adda and Lajpat Nagar to Mayur Vihar Pocket-I stretches are in process right now. Soon, the metro corporation is likely to send papers to the commissioner of metro rail safety, inviting him for inspection. He further stated that the CMRS inspection for Noida Metro’s Aqua Line is happening from 11 to 13 December. He also added that as per the MoU between DMRC and NMRC, for a year, the operation and maintenance of Aqua Line will be managed by Delhi Metro.
The Aqua Line will provide metro connectivity to Greater Noida. As the line is not directly connected to Delhi Metro, commuters will have to change trains and purchase separate tokens in order to use both the networks. Initially, around 100 DMRC employees will provide support to NMRC staff for 1 year. There is a provision to extend this support as well, Dayal added.
