By the end of this month, those travelling by Metro through the new Mandi House and Janpath stations will get to relive the bygone days of the national Capital in the most exquisite forms. The three-kilometre long Heritage line which is set to open by April end will have artistic metallic structures of Jantar Mantar and Agrasen Ki Baoli apart from a picture gallery depicting the evolution of the two areas in posh lutyens’ Delhi.
From housing a brick-kiln to being a cultural hub, the new Mandi House station promises to give an ‘informative journey’ to its commuters. The station which is coming up opposite the existing one will have two broad backlit panels of 37 feet by 6 feet each. The panels will feature texts and photographs reflecting the history of the city and have been installed by the DMRC in collaboration with the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR).
While the corporation is busy giving finishing touches to the station, it has already begun to grab eyeballs due to its admirable façade having Rajasthani style jharokhas with delicate jaali work. “This style has been given to make the station in sync with the area. The place is home to a number of galleries, theatres and cultural centres,” added the official.
Touted as the solution to the perennially jam-packed Rajiv Chowk station, this station will be a part of the extension of the Badarpur-Central Secretariat line. “This corridor will help reducing the rush at Rajiv Chowk station as it will give interchange facilities to commuters on the Violet line. At present, commuters coming from Badarpur have to change trains twice, at Central Secretariat and Rajiv Chowk, to take the Blue line (Dwarka-Noida). The new Mandi House station will enable them to change to the Blue line directly,” explained a DMRC official. According to the corporation, the station, built on standard gauge with island platforms, along with Janpath station is expected to cater to 70,000 commuters in the initial stages.
Connecting one of the most populous shopping arcade in the Capital, the Janpath Metro station too will have its own unique installations. “For the Janpath station, we have installed two metallic structures of monuments in the region. A replica of the Jantar Mantar and Agrasen Ki Baoli will be installed on the walls facing the concourse. We will also have people around these monuments as we have named the artwork Jan Path (track for the common man),” said an official.
“We are awaiting the response of the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) who needs to do a compulsory inspection of the stations before giving the final go ahead. We had written to them in March and the inspection will be wrapped up in the coming weeks after which the services will be open for the public,” said a DMRC official.