NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Delhi Metro on 24th December celebrated the landmark moment of completing 20 years of successful metro operations in the national capital region. This occasion was marked with the inauguration of a special exhibition highlighting 20 years of metro operations and the Indo-Japan partnership. The year 2022 marks the completion of 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.
This unique exhibition was inaugurated on 24th December at Welcome Metro Station by His Excellency, Mr SUZUKI Hiroshi, Ambassador Extraordinary of Japan to India, in the presence of DMRC’s Managing Director, Sh. Vikas Kumar, Mr SAITO Mitsunori, Chief Representative, JICA India Office and other senior officials. Japan has had a long-standing association with the DMRC since the organisation’s inception through financial support and technical assistance for the construction of all phases of the Delhi Metro project so far.
This exhibition offers glimpses of Delhi Metro’s landmark moments in the past 20 years. It covers special occasions such as the inauguration of significant corridors, the introduction of new technologies, unique facilities, exciting facts and visits by essential personalities. The exhibition also showcases the partnership of Delhi Metro and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other Japanese organisations supporting Delhi Metro in its journey.
As part of the 20th operations anniversary celebrations, the first train the then Prime Minister Sh flagged off. On 24th December 2002, Atal Bihar Vajpayee was specially decorated and operated today on the Red Line. Announcements were made inside the train to inform passengers that they were travelling on the very first train, which sparked a delightful reaction from the passengers inside the train.
Delhi Metro utilises the space in its stations to showcase artworks and exhibitions that reflect the rich culture of places where the stations are located to commemorate special occasions or cover a specific theme. For instance, an exhibition installed at Rajiv Chowk Metro station in August 2022 extensively covered the tragedy of ‘Partition’. Similarly, a permanent exhibition at Rajouri Garden Metro Station pays tribute to the heroes of the armed forces. Many of our stations have theme-based artwork as well.
The journey of Delhi Metro operations commenced on 24th December 2002, when the then Prime Minister, Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had flagged off the first-ever train on the 8.4 kilometre-long Shahdara to Tis Hazari corridor of the Red Line. Since then, the Delhi Metro network has expanded exponentially. The expansion of the network has also been among the fastest in the world, as more than 380 kilometres of new lines have been added since 2002. DMRC operates 391 kilometres of metro network with 286 stations on 12 corridors (Including Noida – Greater Noida and Rapid Metro, Gurugram) across Delhi-NCR.
Delhi Metro is the most extensive metro network in India and among the largest metros in the world, with some of the most advanced technologies, such as driverless metro operations on two corridors. The network is further being expanded in the phase – IV project, after completion of which, another 65 kilometres of the network will be added. Currently, the construction is in progress on three approved priority corridors of Phase IV. Two are the extension of the existing Pink (Majlis Park to Maujpur) and Magenta (R K Ashram Marg to Japankpuri West) Lines. At the same time, a new Silver Line will come up, connecting Tughlakabad to Delhi Aerocity.
