With the 9.63 km-long Dilshad Garden-New Bus Adda section of Delhi Metro's Red Line getting the green signal from the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety last week, speculation is rife that an inauguration is on the cards this month itself. "We are waiting for the exact date for the event from the Uttar Pradesh government. But it will be done very soon, and preparations are underway," Kanchan Verma, the vice-chairperson of Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA), told PTI.
Here are 10 things to know about this new corridor that marks the Delhi Metro's foray into the interiors of Ghaziabad:
- This section will be an extension of the 25.09-km Rithala-Dilshad Garden corridor or the Red Line, which has 21 stations. After the opening of this section, the Delhi Metro network will span 336.5 km with 244 metro stations.
- The new elevated section comprises eight stations - Shahid Nagar, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala, Hindon River Station and New Bus Adda.
- According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), its construction was a major challenge as it runs along the busy Grand Trunk Road, which sees non-stop traffic throughout the day. Hence most of the construction activities had to be carried out at night over 4-5 hours.
- The total journey from Dilshad Garden (Delhi) to New Bus Adda in the satellite city will take about 16 minutes and metros will be available at a peak-hour frequency of six minutes and twelve seconds. "A total of 35 six-coach trains will be used on the entire Rithala-New Bus Adda Red corridor," DMRC Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Anuj Dayal, said yesterday.
- Six stations along this new corridor - except Shahid Nagar and Hindon River - have been uniquely designed with the station buildings on both sides of the highway and the platform on the central verge along the viaduct. The platforms are connected to each station building with the help of foot overbridges (FOBs) on either side.
- The FOBs at the concourse level at all these stations, except Hindon River, have been divided into paid and unpaid sections - to be used by metro commuters to reach the platform and the general public to cross the road, respectively.
- Hindon River station is the only standard one with a single building and the platform inside it. The FOB here is reportedly common for both metro commuters and general public. This is the only station where the alignment has gone off the road, DMRC had said in an earlier statement.
- According to reports, the total cost of the new section is pegged at over Rs 1,781 crore. While Dayal did not disclose the official figure, he said that about 20% of the cost has been borne by the DMRC and the rest by the GDA.
- According to a 2014 detailed project report, daily ridership on this route is expected to be 1.2 lakh. Moreover, the New Bus Adda station is set to become the busiest one with a footfall of 50,000 passengers daily.
- This would be the second metro line in Ghaziabad, after the Blue Line that links Delhi to Vaishali. The new section will pass through the Sahibabad Industrial Area and is expected to significantly impact the residential areas lying in proximity. With this, the DMRC's total span in Uttar Pradesh will be close to 53 km.
Edited by Sushmita Choudhury Agarwal
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