Construction of Delhi Metro's Phase-III project may prove to be a boon for lakhs of daily commuters along the ever-congested Ring Road of the Capital as over 20 Metro stations are coming up along the arterial stretch. These Metro stations will be part of the longest corridor of the Metro's third phase —Mukundpur to Yamuna Vihar — which will run parallel to the Ring Road.
At over 58 km, the upcoming corridor will pass through one of the most congested areas of the city. According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the proposed Metro stations touching the arterial Road stretch include Azad Pur, Shalimar Bagh, Netaji Subhash Place, Shakurpur, Punjabi Bagh, ESI hospital, Rajouri Garden, Mayapuri, Narayana, Narayana 1, Delhi Cantonment, Dhaula Kuan, Moti Bagh, Bhikaji Cama Place, Sarojini Nagar, South Extension and lajpat Nagar.
"These Metro stations will not only help reduce traffic load from the busy Ring Road, but will also provide better connectivity to the daily commuters, who get stuck in traffic jams everyday," said a Delhi Metro official.
Apart from these, the Metro stations such as Dhaula Kuan, INA, AIIMS, Netaji Subhash Place, Azad Pur, Rajouri Garden, lajpat Nagar and Punjabi Bagh touching Ring Road, will be converted into interchange stations in the next phase.
"At present, the Metro stations at INA and AIIMS on the Gurgaon line, Netaji Subhash Place on Rithala corridor, Dhaula Kuan on Airport line, Rajouri Garden on Noida line, lajpat Nagar on Badarpur corridor and Punjabi Bagh Metro station on the Mundka line are providing connectivity to areas in proximity to the Ring Road. With the Metro's third phase coming into operation, these stations will be converted into interchange stations, which will facilitate seamless connectivity between different parts of Delhi," he added.
It has been estimated that the arterial road caters to over 3 lakh Passenger Car Units (PCUs) during rush hours, making it one of the busiest and most congested roads in Delhi.
The 48 km-long circular road proves to be the access point for South, West, North, Central and East Delhi areas and is thus, an unavoidable route for Delhiites. Experts said that the arterial road has exceeded its capacity long ago and is saturated with the vehicle load.
"Due to large traffic volume, the worst-hit stretches are Ashram to Moti Bagh crossing, Naraina to Punjabi Bagh, Shanti Van to Bhairon Road crossing and Azadpur," said a senior traffic police official.
According to the Delhi Metro, civil construction work on the Mukundpur to Shiv Vihar corridor with 37 Metro stations which will be 14.36 km underground and 44.02 km elevated is 20 per cent complete.