New Delhi: In a little but important step forward for Delhi Metro, the 850.8 metre stretch extention in pink line at East Delhi's Trilokpuri, which has proved to be a bottleneck for the DMCR authorities for a long time on account of land acquisition issues, was inaugurated on August 6 by union minister of housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal. Both the leaders jointly inaugurated the section between Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stations, via video-conferencing. With this, the 59-km-long Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor nicknamed the Ring Road Line spanning 38 stations, is fully operational. Puri at the inauguration said that “the inauguration today of an 850.8 metres stretch extension might be small from the point of view of network length, but from the perspective of providing enhanced connectivity to people, this connection will play an extremely crucial role." "The missing link in Trilokpuri is now being bridged to allow seamless and end to end travel through Delhi Metro’s longest corridor of 59 kilometers between Majlis Park and Shiv Vihar. Important transport hubs, markets, residential areas across the city will now get connected benefitting lakhs of passengers.” “The last two years have been extremely difficult for all of us. The Covid – 19 pandemic has led to disruptions in work from time to time. Yet, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is today ready with a new vital connection, thus further consolidating the footprint of the Metro in the national capital,” he said. He also added that "1,058 km of the metro network is under construction in 27 cities to boost urban mobility across the country. At present, 721 km of Metro network is operational in 18 cities the DMRC is actively engaged in the planning and construction of the Dhaka Metro in Bangladesh. “DMRC is establishing itself as an efficient company of international repute." "A small portion of the Pink Line in east Delhi's Trilokpuri area had become a bottleneck, due to which the line remained disjointed there. Now, with the missing link plugged after much delay, Delhi Metro's Pink Line has become its longest operational corridor." "Delhi’s Ring Road Line connects all areas such as the Anand Vihar Railway station, Anand Vihar ISBT, Nizamuddin Railway station, markets in South Extension, INA and Lajpat Nagar" said officials. The residents of east Delhi will be benifited with the plugging of the missing link . it might also benifit the people travelling to that region, as the gap at Trilokpuri was causing the corridor to be operated in two separate segments. In 2018, Pink Line was opened in multiple phases. While all the stations were operational, the gap near the Trilokpuri station had existed due to land acquisition issues. Now the section will connect the two ends of the Pink Line and provide seamless connectivity to areas falling in the ambit of Delhi’s Ring Road. DMRC authorities have said that "the operationalisation of the entire network will help commuters save time and money." The first-ever driverless Metro train and the implementation of the National Common Mobility Card facility on the Airport Express Line of the Delhi Metro were operationalised, last year. "DMRC’s fourth phase of expansion comprising of three lines covering approximately 62 kilometres is also gradually taking shape with construction work in full swing. “Along with the construction of the Rapid Rail Transit in NCR, DMRC’s Phase 4 will significantly make commuting easier for residents." Passenger ridership was about 60 lakh passengers per day during pre-Covid-19. Currently, metro services as per DDMA guidelines are running with only sitting passengers and no standing passenger is allowed. “Thus, in a metro coach having the capacity to carry about 300 passengers, only 50 passengers are carried per coach." "With running of train at a higher frequency, DMRC is able to carry up to 24 lakh passengers daily. I am hopeful that the worst is over but would urge all citizens to follow the Covid protocols with full diligence,” Puri further added.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT