Come April 3 and Delhi Metro will add another colour to its palette. A sign of Metro’s expanding network across the city, a green line will also adorn the DMRC map along with the existing red, blue and yellow lines. This green line — from Inderlok to Mundka — brings hope and cheer to over one lakh residents of west Delhi localities such as Punjabi Bagh, Paschim Vihar, Multan Nagar, Peeragarhi and Nangloi. Residents can now bid goodbye to traffic jams as they can now zip to the heart of the city in just 30 minutes in an airconditioned Metro coach. As Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) engineers are working round the clock to complete finishing work on the 15.10-km long line, the first on standard guage in the country, locals residing in colonies dotting the line are euphoric. The travel time from Inderlok to Mundka — one-and-a-half hours by road — is 29 minutes. It will also provide a fast connect to residents of areas like Mundka which have very poor connectivity with the city. The new Metro line will be flagged off by CM Sheila Dikshit and Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy on April 2. It will start for public from 6 am on April 3. In keeping with the mood, property prices too have shot up. The new line is also expected to reduce crowding on the existing system as it is expected to take some load off Line 3 as it has been developed as a parallel link to west Delhi. The new line branches out southwards from the existing Inderlok Metro station to hit the Rohtak Road from Punjabi Bagh via another Metro station at Ashok Park. Two existing Delhi Metro lines are being joined together in the middle for the first time to cut travel time. From Ashok Park, an extension of the line — which will be opened later this year — meets Line 3 at Kirti Nagar Metro station. This corridor, from Inderlok Metro station on Line 1 to Line 3’s Kirti Nagar Metro station, is expected to cut travel time by almost 45 minutes. At present, commuters need to travel 16 Metro stations before they can reach Kirti Nagar from Inderlok. For the link, two new stations will be constructed near the existing stations at Inderlok and Kirti Nagar. Two new station buildings have been constructed which will be connected at the platform and concourse levels for easy interchange. All stations on the fully elevated line will have toilet facilities and parking lots are being created at 10 of the 14 stations. The trains for the line are of different technical specifications and DMRC already has sufficient number of trains to start the new section. Like most other Metros in developed countries, the new line is coming up on standard gauge rails, as against broad gauge used for Phase 1. This means that the tracks will be narrower and speed of trains better. Also, the technology is on a par with what is being used the world over, so sharing will be easier. The Inderlok-Kirti Nagar cross-link will join two operational lines — Dwarka and Kashmere Gate — for the first time, reducing travel time for commuters, who change to either of the lines, by 45 minutes. One of Delhi’s four-tier crossings — an underpass, grade signalised crossing, flyover and now a Metro line — will come up at the Punjabi Bagh crossing .The DMRC has widened about 11 km of main Rohtak Road to a seven-lane stretch. The Inderlok-Mundka line will be the first railway line in the country to run on standard gauge, a global practice . All stations to have toilets .
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