Delhi’s lifeline completes nine
Delhi Metro, which completes nine years of its operations on December 24, has had a stupendous journey with its network spreading far and wide across the National Capital Region (NCR), providing the people with a safe, clean, fast and affordable mode of transport, living up to the tag of being the ‘lifeline’ of national capital. Metro changed the commuting habits of lakhs of passengers by bringing two more satellite towns- Ghaziabad and Faridabad - closer to the capital in 2011.
While 2011 was a year of transition for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) - as the organization moved towards the start of work of Phase-3 after the successful completion of Phase-2, during the year, the DMRC added another 34.52 kilometres of Metro lines to its network, taking the total length of the Delhi Metro system to over 190 kilometres.
The year also saw the DMRC also achieve its highest-ever ridership by carrying more than 20 lakh passengers on August 12. The average ridership of metro over the year has been 1.8 million. In 2010, the highest ridership achieved by Delhi Metro was little over 16 lakhs on November 15.
Metro enters Ghaziabad
One of the major achievement of the DMRC was the extension of the Metro services up to Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. On July 14, the services were extended from Anand Vihar ISBT till Vaishali in Ghaziabad, covering an additional distance of 2.5 kilometres. Ghaziabad has now become the third satellite town of Delhi after Noida and Gurgaon to be connected by the Metro.
Faridabad gets closer
The year started with extension of the Central Secretariat – Sarita Vihar corridor up to Badarpur (Faridabad border) on January 14. The opening of this five-kilometres-long stretch took the Metro to the southern-most end of the city. The extension of the corridor has benefited the residents of the neighbouring city of Faridabad immensely.
Airport Express
Bringing much-awaited relief for the air travellers and other commuters to Delhi Airport, the Airport Express Link (New Delhi station to Airport) was opened for commuter operations in the month of February. Commuters could now reach the airport from the heart of the city in just 18 minutes.
With the opening of this 23.7-km-long historic corridor, Delhi has now joined the elite list of global cities such as Shanghai, Tokyo, London etc., that have direct Metro connectivity between the airport and the city centre. Apart from reducing the travel time to and from airport, Metro has now made it possible for air passengers to obtain boarding passes of some select airlines from the New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium stations.
The Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity stations on the airport link that could not be opened earlier, were also opened for the public from August 15.
Reduces travel time
The 3.32-km-long Kirti Nagar – Ashok Park Main link was opened on August 27, marking the completion of all the corridors planned under Phase-II, this small but vital link has connected Line 5 (Inderlok-Mundka) with Line 3 (Dwarka Sector 21–Noida City Centre). The link is vital in terms of reducing travel time for commuters.
More coaches
In order to control the problem of overcrowding, the DMRC converted about a hundred trains into six-coach trains from four-coach. The Rolling Stock department has already placed orders for additional coaches to convert six-coach trains into eight-coachers to handle the rise in passenger traffic in the future.
Phase-III begins
Delhi metro has also commenced the preparatory works for the construction of another 117 kilometres of Metro under the third phase of Metro expansion after the Union Government gave its formal go-ahead, along with connectivity to Faridabad.
While the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is engaged in carrying out the preparatory works for beginning the construction of 117 kilometres of Metro lines across Delhi and Faridabad in Haryana, on the Central Secretariat–Kashmere Gate section, civil work has already commenced at Janpath and Mandi House and all the corridors are expected to be commissioned by 2016.
‘Metro Man’ bids adieu
Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, the celebrated Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation would relinquish his post on December 31 after a 15-year tenure as Delhi Metro chief. Sreedharan, who joined DMRC in 1995, was scheduled to retire in 2000, but was requested repeatedly by the Delhi government to continue as DMRC chief. He was given five extensions so that work on Delhi Metro's Phase I and II was not hindered.
The 79-year-old veteran engineer, who made the urban India’s dream project possible, has decided to retire from public life and settle down in Chathannur, his native village near Thrissur in Kerala.
Mangu Singh, 56, and the Metro’s Director (Works) who oversaw the construction of the showcase Airport Express Metro, will be stepping onto the big shoes of Sreedharan as the Managing Director. Singh will be in-charge of Delhi Metro's Phase-III that will bring another 117 kilometres of the capital and its satellite towns under the Metro network.
People in Delhi still look forward to a comfortable commuting experience for years to come.
