NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The expansion of Delhi’s Metro network under Phase 4 has encountered delays, affecting the completion dates for three corridors. The fourth phase of the project would bring 46 elevated and underground metro stations totaling 65.20 kilometres to Delhi.
The corridors affected by the delay are Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg, Majlis Park-Maujpur, and Tughalakabad-Aerocity. The Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg corridor was supposed to be completed by September 2025 but will now be operational by March 2026. Likewise, the Majlis Park-Maujpur corridor, originally set for November 2024, will be finished by March 2025. The completion date for the Tughlakabad-Aerocity corridor has been shifted from September 2025 to March 2026.
The Delhi government approved six metro corridors for phase 4 expansion in December 2018; however, only three got the Union Cabinet’s approval in March 2019. The Construction work began in December 2019 but faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
To move forward with phase 4, DMRC signed a contract with Alstom Transport India in December 2022 to acquire 312 Metro Coaches. These trains will be manufactured at Alstom India’s facility near Chennai. The Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg corridor will get 144 coaches, while the Mukundpur-Maujpur extension of the Pink line will be equipped with 90 new coaches. Furthermore, the Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor is set to have 78 new coaches, enhancing the capacity and efficiency of these metro lines.