The opening of the fifth corridor of the Delhi Metro in October 2018 – the 17.8-km Shiv Vihar-Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake section of the Pink Line – put Delhi among a select group of cities such as London, Beijing and Shanghai that have an operational metro network of over 300 kms. This was followed by the inauguration of the 9.7-km Lajpat Nagar-Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 corridor of the Pink Line, on December 31, 2018, which directly connected south and east Delhi on the rapid transit network, taking the total operational length to 327 kms, with 236 stations.

2018 also saw Delhi Metro and its riders literally reaching dizzying heights, giving passengers a bird’s eye view of the sprawling city from a vantage point as high as the top of a seven-storeyed building. The feat was achieved as part of the opening of the over 20-km-long Majlis Park-Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus corridor of the Pink Line, which connected the north and south campuses of the Delhi University for the first time, on to the metro network. Rising at 23.6 metres in busy Dhaula Kaun area, this was the highest point in the network of the mass rapid transit system that has shrunk distances and connected the heart of the city to nondescript locations.

See also: Centre examining proposal for Delhi Metro’s Phase IV, parliament informed

Delhi Metro also achieved an engineering accomplishment, by building its deepest station on a new 24.82-km Magenta Line corridor, spanning Kalakaji Mandir and Janakpuri West, which was opened in May 2018. At 29 metres, the five-level new Hauz Khas station on the Magenta Line became the deepest station on the Delhi Metro network, whose tunnel was bored below the existing one on the Yellow Line. The old station at busy Hauz Khas (HUDA City Centre-Samayapur Badli or Yellow Line) was 17 metres deep. For the construction of the new station, it was not possible to go below the existing station, as the foundation was 32 metres and there was also the foundation of the flyover on Outer Ring Road, a senior DMRC official said.

At the inauguration of the Lajpat Nagar-Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 corridor of the Pink Line on December 31, 2018, union minister of state (independent charge) for housing and urban affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri had lauded the metro, saying, “This is the seventh time, the operation of a metro line is being commenced this year, which is truly a great achievement. The work on the Phase III of the DMRC has been almost completed, with nearly 96 kms of it being made operational this year.” DMRC’s managing director Mangu Singh said the work on Lajpat Nagar-Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 corridor faced several challenges, especially the Ashram and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations. “The original design of Ashram station was changed due to constraints and the new station box was kept at a length of 151 metres and mezzanine was added to this station, to accommodate facilities. Ashram station is now the smallest station on the Delhi Metro network and a regular station length is about 265 metres,” a senior DMRC official said.

Delhi Metro lines to be opened in 2019

In 2019, a few more lines are likely to be opened early, as Singh said, the nearly 30-km-long Noida-Greater Noida line is ready and could be inaugurated anytime soon, adding, Dilshad Garden-New Bus Adda section was also ready. 2019 will also see focus on Phase IV of the DMRC, which the Delhi government approved in December. Among the projects chosen under Phase IV are: Rithala-Bawana-Narela (21.73 kms, elevated), Janakpuri West-RK Ashram (28.92 kms, 21.18 kms elevated), Mukundpur-Maujpur (12.54 kms, elevated), Inderlok-Indraprastha (12.58 kms, underground), Aero City-Tughlakabad (20.2 kms, 5.58 kms elevated), Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block (7.96 kms, 5.89 kms elevated). The construction work under the project is estimated to cost around Rs 45,000 crores.

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