The Delhi Metro on Thursday gave a sneak peek into the Kalkaji Mandir- Janakpuri West corridor, a 24.8 km section of the Magenta line, scheduled to be inaugurated on Monday. With the inauguration of this stretch, commuters will get an easy access to Terminal 1 (domestic) of Indira Gandhi International Aiport.
The 24.82-kilometre long section comprises 16 stations, including interchange facilities at Hauz Khas (with yellow line) and Janakpuri West (with Blue line). Set to be inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, services on this route will open for public on Tuesday morning at 6.am.
For South Delhi residents, the domestic metro station will have a direct connectivity from Kalkaji, Nehru Place, Hauz Khas, Munirka. While for East Delhi residents, passengers coming from Vaishali (Ghaziabad), Anand Vihar, lakshmi Nagar can take Blue line and change at Janakpuri West.
For West Delhi residents, passengers coming from Punjabi Bagh, Netaji Subhash Place can take the new Majlis Park- Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus corridor, change at Rajouri Garden, then take Blue line and reach Janakpuri West to avail the services on this corridor. For North and Central Delhi residents, passengers coming from Vishwavidyalaya and Central Delhi areas can take the Yellow line, reach Hauz Khas and board the train to the Terminal 1 of the IGI Airport. Noida residents, on the other hand, will get direct line to the domestic terminal, which will now be only 35 minutes away.
The line will also reduce travel time by half from Noida to Gurugram. While it used to take one and a half hour, with the line, it will take 50 minutes to travel to Noida from Gurugram. Earlier, commuters used to come till Rajiv Chowk.
The Delhi metro officials said that they expect around 3.09 lakh footfall on this corridor. With the addition of the corridor to the Botanical Garden- Kalkaji Mandir section, the metro has made a mark of being the longest metro network in the world. Once the line is thrown open, it will reduce time travel from Noida to Gurugram to just 50 minutes.
Among the many features of the Kalkaji- Janakpuri West, part of the Botanical Garden- Janakpuri West, Hauz Khas metro station will serve as an important interchange stations, easing out commuter congestion at Rajiv Chowk.
Anuj Dayal, Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Delhi Metro said, “Hauz Khas metro station it is the first metro station which had been constructed 29 metres below the existing station (part of the Yellow line). Another major feat achieved by the Delhi Metro is the escalators installed at the Janakpuri West station. Installed at a height at 15.65 meters, these escalators are equal to a five storey building.
Talking about the construction of the new Hauz Khas metro station, within the existing metro station, Anuj Dayal said, “Construction of the Hauz Khas station was a massive challenge for the Delhi Metro team. Since it was an interchange facility, the engineers had to ensure that the inter connectivity between the old and the new portions of the Hauz Khas station was seamless and comfortable. The new station has been connected with the presently operational station through a ramp. The present Hauz Khas station starts near the laxman Public school and proceeds up to almost the median of the Outer Ring Road. The present station at Hauz Khas is 17 meters deep.
The new station has been built adjacent to the existing station at a depth of 29 metres with a length of 265 metres. It has been designed as a five level station (rail - platform - intermediate - intermediate - concourse). Generally interchange stations have three or in some cases four levels only.
Another measure taken by the Delhi Metro was to install sound barriers at the Hauz Khas metro station. “To prevent disturbance to the residents, sound barriers were installed at Hauz Khas. These sound barriers are continuing all along the station box. These barriers lead to about 32 to 35 percent reduction in noise. The adjacent residential area is Sarvapriya Vihar.