From 2002 to 2026: Delhi Metro enthusiast continues first-ride tradition
From being a passenger in the inaugural Delhi Metro in 2002 to his latest ride in new corridors this year, Anil Marwah has kept the tradition of taking the first ride on new routes alive for more than two decades now.
For most people, a new metro line means a faster commute, but for the 65-year-old, it means another page in a carefully preserved album, an album not of photos but of metro smart cards.
As the two new metro routes connecting Majlis Park to Maujpur and Majlis Park to Deepali Chowk were inaugurated on Sunday, the metro enthusiast was once again present with his albums, continuing his 24-year-old tradition and becoming one of the first passengers on the new corridors.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) commenced train services at 3 pm on the two newly inaugurated corridors after they were flagged off earlier in the day by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Marwah, proudly displaying his collection, said that his album consisted of every first-day Delhi Metro smart card issued for the newly opened corridors.
His carefully preserved collection includes the cards, photographs from inaugural rides before entering the metro, newspaper clippings and even recognition from the Limca Book of World Records, all neatly stored in albums he carries to metro inaugurations.
“My story with Delhi Metro started on December 25, 2002. Earlier, I had lived in Japan for a year from 1988 to 1989, and I was very fascinated that the metro trains there ran through the colonies. I used to wonder when something like that would start in Delhi,” Marwah said.
He recalled that when the metro finally started, he was living in Rajender Nagar and went with his son to Shahdara so that they could take the first ride.
“We couldn’t get a ticket, so we bought a card for the first trip. After that, as new extensions kept getting added, I kept trying to get the cards and travel on them as the first passenger. I have managed to maintain the passion all until today,” he said.
