The Hindu : Front Page : Metro all set now to bring Dwarka closer to Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 18, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Metro all set now to bring Dwarka closer to Delhi

Staff Reporter

NEXT IN LINE: Work in full swing on the Barakhamba-Indraprastha section of Delhi Metro rail network near Tilak Bridge. This section should be ready by June. - PHOTO: ANU PUSHKARNA

NEW DELHI: After the recent opening of the brand new 6 km flyover that has provided them direct access to National Highway No. 8, residents of Dwarka and nearby areas who over the years have yearned for a proper and fast mode of transport to the heart of the Capital will from this month-end be able to travel to and from Connaught Place in the gleaming silver Delhi Metro train in just about an hour.

With work on the 6.5 km extension of Delhi Metro from Dwarka to Dwarka Sector 9 now complete, inspection of the system -- which has been undergoing trials since March 10 -- by the Commissioner for Railway Safety is now awaited to throw it open to the public.

The total cost of the section was Rs. 430 crores in April 2003. Of this, the cost of infrastructure -- which was Rs. 320 crores including civil, electrical and signalling and telecommunication work -- was borne by the Delhi Development Authority, while the Rs. 110-crore cost of the rolling stock has been mobilised by the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation on its own.

For this extension of the 23.1 km Barakhamba-Dwarka Line 3, which was inaugurated in December 2005, DDA had agreed to provide the money as it wanted to add value to Dwarka Sub-City that had been designed to accommodate a million people but could not match the target due to inadequate infrastructure and improper approach.

The Metro service now is expected to provide the much-needed impetus to development in the area. With the extension of the line, DMRC will be increasing the number of trains on the entire route from 18 at present to 21 initially and then to 24 in June 2006. The extension will add six more stations to the network -- at Sectors 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 and 9 -- and is expected to result in an increase in Delhi Metro ridership by about 50,000 a day.

Beyond Sector 9, the Delhi Metro will be destined for Dwarka Sector 22, and for this 2.5 km extension again DDA will bear the infrastructure cost of Rs. 275 crores.

After this extension, DMRC will focus on completion of the 2.9 km extension of Line 3 from Barakhamba Road near Connaught Place to Indraprastha (ITO) in June. Passing through Mandi House, this section would provide metro access to thousands working in and around the busy ITO area. It would also help thousands others coming in from East Delhi and bound for West Delhi or other areas on the Metro network every day, adding to the daily passenger volumes enormously.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail