Aiming to expand connectivity across the National Capital Region (NCR), the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has set in motion the process for the construction of 18 new Metro corridors spanning 206.5 km.

A proposal for the ambitious Phase V of the DMRC has been moved before the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Of the proposed 18 corridors in Phase-V, four will be entirely new. These include the Mayapuri to Kashmiri Gate, CGO Complex to Surya Vihar (Faridabad), Mayur Vihar Phase-3 to Loni Border, and the Najafgarh-Nangloi Metro corridor. The remaining 14 corridors will be extensions of existing Metro lines.

The new corridors have been divided into two parts. Phase V (A) includes those three corridors whose detailed project report is ready. The 206 km Phase V will have 128 Metro stations running through 115 km of elevated corridor (79 stations) and the rest of track and the stations will be underground. The longest Phase 5 corridor will be built between Ballabgarh and Palwal, while the second longest will be a 21 km long stretch between Mayur Vihar Phase-3 and Loni Border.

The Delhi Metro has recently written a letter to the Union ministry seeking approval of these projects. Once implemented, the metro services will be available in almost every part of Delhi. The authority stated that the implementation of these projects will not only help in reducing vehicular pressure on the roads, but will also check air pollution.

In its letter, the Delhi Metro has suggested that the proposal has been sent to expand the services, and after several discussions, the authority has prepared a proposal to build 18 corridors. The first phase will have three corridors of 15.8 km, including the Central Vista Corridor from Indraprastha via India Gate, Aerocity-Airport Terminal 1, and Tughlakabad-Kalindi Kunj Corridor. Apart from this, the Aerocity-Airport Terminal 1 and Tughlakabad-Kalindi Kunj corridors will be an extension of the currently under-construction Swarn Rekha (Tughlakabad-Aerocity). There is also a proposal to build 15 corridors in the second phase to expand the services. While five of these corridors are connected to the cities of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, an in-principle approval is needed to prepare the DPR of these corridors.