New Delhi: The ITO – Kashmere Gate corridor of the Delhi Metro was formally flagged off for passenger services today by the Union Minister of Urban Development, Sh. M. Venkaiah Naidu and the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sh. Arvind Kejriwal in the presence of Union Minister for Science and Technology, Environment, Forest, Climate Change and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan and many senior dignitaries.
The 5.17 km long underground corridor is an extension of the already operational Escorts Mujesar (Faridabad) – ITO Violet Line. About 90,000 additional commuters are expected to use this new section comprising of four new stations.
Speaking on the occasion, Sh. Naidu complimented Delhi Metro for the opening of the line and said, “providing world class connectivity to the old Delhi areas has been one of our priorities and this new corridor will connect old Delhi – the heart of the capital city, with many new areas including the satellite city of Faridabad in Haryana.
“Old Delhi is the tourism and cultural hub of the city. Many monuments of great historical importance are located here. This new Metro connection will bring many more people to these monuments as now the visitors will not have to worry about traffic jams and parking hassles”
Union Minister for Science and Technology, Environment, Forest, Climate Change and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who also is the Member of Parliament from the Chandni Chowk area, said,”I have traveled by many Metros across the world, but whenever we compare we find that our Delhi Metro is better than most.”
The Chief Minister of Delhi, Sh. Arvind Kejriwal said, ”Delhi Metro, today is the pride of not only Delhi but entire India. There are many countries now which are looking up to Delhi Metro and DMRC is providing consultancy to many towns and cities. From the point of view of environment protection, time management and economy, Delhi Metro has emerged as a very suitable mode of travel”
Delhi Metro’s Managing Director, Dr. Mangu Singh thanked the people along the ITO-Kashmere Gate corridor for their continuous support and cooperation. The occasion was also attended by MLA Sh. Praveen Kumar and Chairman, DMRC, Sh. Rajiv Gauba.
With the opening of this section, the Escorts Mujesar (Faridabad) – Kashmere Gate corridor has become 43 kilometres long. This section is also called the heritage corridor since it will bring Metro connectivity to many monuments of historical importance such as the Jama Masjid and Red Fort. All the four stations of this section have also received platinum rating for meeting green building norms from the Indian Green Building Council.
On this section, trains will be available at a frequency of three minutes and 20 seconds during peak hours. This section will ease commuting from areas along Delhi Metro’s Red Line (Rithala – Dilshad Garden) to south Delhi and Faridabad since passengers now will have to change trains only once at Kashmere Gate, which has been transformed into a mega interchange facility for three different corridors (red, yellow and violet lines). Delhi Metro’s total network length has now increased to 218 kilometres with 164 stations.
Source: DMRC Press Release.
