Trial runs at Majlis Park–south Campus section completed

NEW DELHI: Once operational, the Majlis Park–durgabai Deshmukh South Campus section of Delhi Metro’s Pink Line will prove to be a blessing for college-going students.

The section will reduce travel time between Delhi University’s South and North Campus by nearly 30 minutes.

The Pink Line, between Shiv Vihar and Majlis Park, along the Ring Road, is likely to start operation in March.

According to a Delhi Metro official, “The 20.6-km long Majlis Park–durgabai Deshmukh South Campus section section of Delhi Metro’s Phase-iii has 12 stations (eight elevated and four underground), including three interchange stations at Azadpur, Netaji Subhash Place and Rajouri Garden. The Metro train will also cross Dhaula Kuan, at a height of 23.6 metres, to reach South Campus from Majlis Park.”

The stretch is extremely important from the point of view of enhancing connectivity along the arterial Ring Road.

Currently, students from South Campus either go to Dhaula Kuan on the Airport Line or board the Yellow Line from AIIMS or INA stations, around six kilometres away.

Students in South Campus have long complained about the lack of easy Metro connectivity in their area, which makes commuting a challenge.

The official further said that more than 12,000 passengers are expected to use the South Campus station. The station will also be a major transport hub for students, as many colleges of the South Campus of Delhi University are located nearby and surrounding residential areas of RK Puram, Satyaniketen will also be benefitted with the line’s operation.

The South Campus station will be connected with a 920m long foot overbridge (FOB) to the Dhaula Kuan Metro station. The FOB will be the first ever in the Delhi Metro network to have travelators.

There will be 22 travelators along the length of the FOB, which will be constructed so that passengers will not have to come out of the Metro system to board another train.

Trial runs and testing on the Pink Line have been successfully completed and mandatory clearances are required, including one from the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), a fire safety clearance, license for working lifts etc, a statement by Delhi Metro read.

It further said that papers for scrutiny and detailed examination by CMRS are under submission to his office and after these are cross-checked and examined in depth, further action is expected.

Furthermore, since the application involves voluminous data of civil, electrical, signalling and track, Delhi Metro may also have to supply additional information further sought by the office of the CMRS. After the entire process, a suitable date for inspection of the section will be indicated.