Kalkajibotanical Gdn section may open by the end of this month
METRO PHASE III Officials say safety inspection to start soon
NEWDELHI: The Botanical Garden and Kalkaji Mandir section of the Botanical Garden-janakpuri west line is set to open by the end of this month, Delhi Metro officials said.
According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), after the successful trials and testing on the 12.64- kilometre-long section, Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) has been asked to inspect the line.
The CMRS will inspect the section on November 13, 14 and 15. The commissioner will give a go ahead, if he founds the line to be safe for operations.
With the opening of this section, residents of Noida will save at least 45 minutes of travelling time while going to south Delhi. The Botanical Garden Metro station will be the first ever interchange station outside Delhi and it will remain the only one.
“The three-day inspection(november 13,14,15) is enough to check the new signalling system and new trains. The platform screen doors have been installed for the first time on this section,” said a DMRC official.
This section will also be Delhi Metro’s first ever corridor to be operated using the Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling technology which will facilitate movement of trains with improved frequency.
Once the corridor from Botanical Garden up tojanakpuri West (38.23 kms) is opened, commuters from Noida will be able to go to Gurgaon by changing trains at Hauz Khas.
This will help decongest Rajiv Chowk, which is currently the interchange point for travellers between Noida and Gurgaon.
The Botanical Garden – Kalkaji Mandir section has nine stations - Kalkaji Mandir, Okhla NSIC, Sukhdev Vihar, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh, Kalindi Kunj, Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Botanical Garden.
While Kalkaji Mandir is underground, all other stations are elevated. The section will also cater to two major educational institutions – Jamia Milia Islamia University and Amity University.
On this section, Delhi Metro’s third bridge over the river Yamuna has come up at Kalindi Kunj between the Kalindi Kunj and Okhla Bird Sanctuary stations. It is a 574-metre-long bridge with 14 spans (41 metres each) and 15 piers. It has come up about 85 metres downstream of the existing Okhla Bridge over the river Yamuna.
The metro station in Botanical garden will connect Noida directly with important locations of south Delhi such as Nehru Place, Kalkaji among other places. Passengers travelling from Noida to Faridabad will now be able to change trains at Kalkaji Mandir and go directly to Faridabad. Since both Botanical Garden and Kalkaji Mandir are interchange stations, there will be significant reduction in travelling time for especially those travelling on the blue and violet lines.
Noida will also get directly connected with the domestic terminals of the Indira Gandhi International Airport for the first time, once the entire line is operational. The journey from the Botanical Garden station to the domestic terminal will take about 40 minutes only.