Delhi Metro completes 21 years of operations

New Delhi: Delhi Metro, which began operations with a small 8.4-km line in December 2002, on Sunday completed 21 years of journey dotted with several milestones.

On this very day in 2002, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had inaugurated the first stretch of the Delhi Metro from Shahdara to Tis Hazari on the Red Line. Passengers services began a day later on Christmas.

Since then, the Delhi Metro has emerged as Delhi's lifeline and the entire National Capital Region (NCR), the DMRC said in a statement on Sunday.

"From an inaugural network length of just 8.4 kilometres with six stations in 2002, the Delhi Metro stands tall today with a network of 393 km and 288 stations. More than six million passenger journeys are being performed every single day on the Delhi Metro making it one of the largest mass transit systems in the entire world," it said.

In the last 21 years, more than 380 km of additional lines have been laid in the NCR, which is a 'staggering feat' and probably, the biggest infrastructure marvel created in the country, the DMRC said.

In addition, another 65 km of new lines are being laid across the national capital, which will take the network length beyond 400 km in days to come, officials said.

The DMRC said 2023 was also a 'year of achievements' for the urban transporter.

From the September 17, the DMRC started to operate the Airport Express Line at a 'massive speed of 120 kilometres per hour'.

"This historic increase in speed of India's fastest Metro corridor gradually from 90 kmph to 120 kmph was made possible by meticulous planning and time-bound implementation by DMRC's engineers in consultation with a number of other government agencies and domain experts," the statement said.

The total journey from New Delhi to Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector-25 now takes about 21 minutes. Earlier, the travel time between New Delhi and Dwarka Sector 21 was approximately 22 minutes and now it has reduced to around 19 minutes between these two stations, which saves three minutes.

The approximate travel time between New Delhi and Terminal 3 Airport is now about 15 minutes and 30 seconds. Earlier, it was a little more than 18 minutes.

In the year gone by, the DMRC introduced a number of new digital ticketing solutions that have made ticketing extremely convenient. While the entire system was made compliant with the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) system, a QR code-based ticketing system was also introduced whereby now commuters can purchase QR code paper tickets or QR code tickets on the app, officials said.

On November 1, the Delhi Metro achieved a milestone with the launch of 'Momentum 2.0,' an innovative platform set to redefine the daily commuting experience for millions in the NCR.

The app -- 'Momentum 2.0' -- provides instant and direct access to services such as Integrated QR Ticketing (mainline and airport line), a wide array of e-shopping choices, digital lockers for quick and safe deliveries, smart utility payments and last-mile connectivity options, the statement said.

Through another initiative called 'CarbonLite Metro Travel', passengers now are informed about the average amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions they save during their metro journeys in comparison to road-based motor vehicles. This enlightening statistic is prominently displayed on both paper and mobile QR tickets, ensuring widespread awareness of the positive impact of sustainable public transport.

Also, on September 4 this year, the Delhi Metro recorded 71.03 lakh passenger journeys, which is the highest ever for the mass transit system.

This was a significant achievement which indicates that the Delhi Metro has been able to reinstate itself as the mass transportation backbone of the entire NCR after the challenges posed to public mobility by the Covid-19 pandemic, the DMRC said.