The Hindu : Front Page : Brand new Delhi Metro rail line gets the green signal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 26, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Brand new Delhi Metro rail line gets the green signal

Staff Reporter

HERE WE COME: Trial run for the new Delhi Metro service under way on Saturday Rail from Dwarka Sector-14 to Sector-9. - PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

NEW DELHI: Residents of the Capital's Dwarka sub-city will now be able to avail of the Delhi Metro railway service and reach the heart of the Capital in less than an hour as the brand new Barakhamba Road-Dwarka line is all set to extend its run within the sub-city from this coming March 31.

Trains that plied between Barakhamba Road and Dwarka so far will now pass through Sectors 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 and 9 of the distant sub-city, allowing their residents easy access to Connaught Place.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson Anuj Dayal announced on Saturday that the new 6.5-km stretch would be opened to the public on April 1. The green signal for opening the line has finally been given following an inspection by the Commissioner for Railway Safety earlier this week. Trial runs on the line had been going on since March 5, said C. B. K. Rao, Director (Projects and Planning), Delhi Metro.

While the new line will increase the number of passengers travelling by the Delhi Metro railway network by about 50,000 daily, the Delhi Development Authority, which has borne a sizable chunk of the construction costs, will benefit from value addition to its pet project of Dwarka sub-city.

The total construction cost of the extended line was Rs. 430 crores, of which DDA had provided Rs. 320 crores for the construction of Metro stations. This included the cost of infrastructure, civil, electrical, signalling and telecommunication work. The remainder of Rs. 110 crores was put in by DMRC.

According to Mr. Rao, work on the extended line was finished in record time. "We got the go-ahead for construction only in April 2004. So the work on this section has been completed in a record time of 22 months," he said.

To ensure smooth progress of the project on the extended line, DDA had not only provided money but also earmarked a 30-metre-wide dedicated corridor for the Delhi Metro in the Master Plan for Dwarka.

According to Director (Operations) Raj Kumar, DMRC is also in the process of updating its software as the existing one is not capable of handling the expected increase in the flow of commuters. "Therefore, from Saturday, the Metro operations on Line 3 will close 30 minutes before the usual time and open an hour later in the morning to enable us to update the software," he said.

There is more of good news for the residents of Dwarka with DDA requesting Delhi Metro to extend the same line a further 2.5 km, stretching it up to Sector 22 towards the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

This will entail construction of two more stations. DDA will bear the infrastructure cost and has already granted Rs. 50 crores for the purpose. The project is likely to be completed in 18 months.

Meanwhile, work is under way in full swing to complete the 2.9 km extension of Line 3 from Barakhamba Road near Connaught Place to Indraprastha near ITO that would serve as Delhi Metro's gateway to East Delhi and beyond.

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