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Metro to provide easy access to Games venues

Staff Reporter

“Work on all lines passing near Games venues completed between 25 per cent and 57 per cent”

Five lines set to be opened in 2009 itself
Plan to start feeder bus services to all venues

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is rushing to meet deadlines for completion of the second phase of work before commencement of the Commonwealth Games in October 2010. With the metro going to 10 of the 11 Games venues, visitors and athletes will have easy and quick access to the sporting arenas.

In the second phase and for the purpose of the Games, the metro has been chartered for the Commonwealth Games Village, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi University, Thyagaraj Complex, Siri Fort Sports Complex, National Stadium, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Talkatora Indoor Stadium, Yamuna Sports Complex and R. K. Tennis Complex.

“DMRC has completed between 25 per cent and 57 per cent work on all the lines passing near the Games venues and they will be opened by September 2010, a month before the Commonwealth Games are scheduled,” said a DMRC official.

Of these, five lines are set to be opened in 2009 itself. These include the Vishwavidyalaya-Jehangirpuri (6.36 km), Indraprastha-New Ashok Nagar (8.07 km), New Ashok Nagar-NOIDA (7 km), Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar ISBT (6.17 km) and Inderlok-Mundka (18.46 km).

“Three Commonwealth Games venues -- the Games Village, Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium and Delhi University -- will have direct access to metro stations. The Games Village, where most athletes will reside, is adjacent to the Akshardham metro station on the Indraprastha-New Ashok Nagar line which is already 57 per cent complete and is scheduled to be opened by June 2009,” said the official.

The JLN Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies are to be held, can be accessed directly from the JLN Stadium metro station or from the Jangpura station which is half a kilometre away. Both these stations are part of the Central Secretariat-Badarpur corridor on which 25 per cent of the work has already been completed and is scheduled to open in September 2010.

Delhi University, which will host the rugby events, already has its own metro station, Vishwavidyalaya station.

“Just one km from the metro stations will be the Thyagaraj Complex, Football Stadium and Siri Fort Sports Complex. The Thyagaraj complex will be one km from the underground INA metro station, part of the Central Secretariat-Qutub Minar line which is 30 per cent complete and is to be opened in June 2010. The Siri Fort Sports Complex will also be one km from the nearest metro station, Hauz Khas, which is also on the same line,” said the official.

The Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium – the hockey venue – and the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, which will host cycling, archery, wrestling and gymnastics, will be 1.5 km from the operational Pragati Maidan metro station and Indraprastha metro station respectively. The National Stadium can also be accessed from the operational Central Secretariat metro station.

“Three venues, Talkatora Indoor Stadium, Yamuna Sports Complex and R.K. Tennis Complex, will be just 2 km away from the metro stations. The aquatics venue, Talkotora Indoor Stadium, can be accessed from the operational Jhandewalan metro station. The Yamuna Sports Complex, a multi-game venue, will also be 2 km from the Anand Vihar metro station, a part of the Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar ISBT line which is already 53 per cent complete and to be opened by December 2009,” the official pointed out.

The tennis venue, R. K. Tennis Complex, can be easily reached from the AIIMS metro station. The Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range is the only venue that will be 7 km away from the Tughlaqabad metro station on the under-construction Central Secretariat- Badarpur line. The DMRC is also planning to start feeder bus services to all Games venues which are not adjacent to metro stations.

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