Metro relief for Palam and Cantt
MAGENTA LINE Delhi Metro Rail Corporation says the new stations, with several unique features, may open by Aprilend
NEW DELHI: The crowded neighbourhood of southwest Delhi’s Palam Colony, for which DTC’S route 764 is the sole lifeline to reach south and central Delhi, will now get a chance at a comfortable and hassle-free travel with the opening of the Magenta Line later this month.
Metro services in Palam and Sadar Bazar (Delhi Cantonment) will not only strengthen public transport in these pockets, it will also ease traffic congestion in these areas.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials said the request for inspections of the line has been sent to the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) and it is likely that the line will be opened by April-end.
UNIQUE FEATURES
Palam and Sadar Bazar Cantonment stations will have several first-of-its-kind features. The stations are part of the Magenta Line, connecting Botanical Garden in Noida to Janakpuri West in west Delhi.
In a first for a Metro station, Palam has parking space for 66 e-rickshaws where around six to seven charging points will be provided. E-rickshaws, apart from the Metro feeders, have emerged as a crucial link in the last-mile connectivity to and from metro stations in the city.
The station also has unique art installations. The passage between exit gates two and three, which has already been opened for public to use as a subway to cross the road, has a rooftop installation depicting the blue sky, while the walls are decked with handmade ceramic tiles.
There is also a heavy use of glass separators to divide the station area. The division at the automatic fare collection (AFC) gates will also help control crowd and facilitate faster entry and exit.
In both the stations, the old stickers to direct passengers on the entry and exit to the metro coaches have been replaced with tile designs.
FEWER TRAFFIC JAMS
It was only after the construc- tion of the Dwarka flyover in 2006 that these areas received proper connectivity to south and central Delhi.
However, because of the limited bus routes, which only cover the peripheral areas in the Dwarka sub-city, commuters had been forced to use private vehicles.
Though the opening of the Blue Line, from Dwarka Sector-21 to Noida City Centre, has eased travel to a great extent, areas such as Palam, Mahavir Exclave, Dwarka Sector-1, and Dashrathpuri in Dabri-palam area still rely on shared autos and public buses for travel.
Metro officials said the opening of the line will not only ease snarls in these neighbourhoods but will also reduce traffic volume on the Dwarka flyover which, according to the Delhi Traffic Police, is among the stretches with most traffic flow in the city.
Estimates show that over one lakh vehicles cross Dwarka Road every day.
The inauguration of the Palam station will also throw open the slip road going towards the railway line (phatak), which was blocked by the DMRC for construction, allowing a quicker passage by road too.
The army quarters around the Sadar Bazar Cantonment station will also get easy public transport connectivity.
Pedestrian safety has also been taken care of by the DMRC on this stretch.
A footover bridge, connecting the Prahladpur Village to the station on the cantonment side, has also been built to help passengers cross the busy stretch.
CHALLENGES
The design of the Sadar Bazar Cantonment station is an example of optimum utilisation of limited space.
Officials said since the station is located on defence land, procurement of the space was initially a problem.
In Palam, however, the issues were different. The space where the station has been built was a low lying area which would get flooded whenever it would rain. The natural slope of the road would lead rain water from the surrounding colonies and also from the flyover to seep into the under-construction station.
“Not only was the road geometry of the section improved, we also created a 250-metre drain line along the stretch to drain rainwater,” a Metro official said. Dwarka Palam station: Dwarka flyover Phatak Road Mahavir Enclave Puran Nagar
Raj Nagar Mangalapuri Palam Colony Sadar Bazar Cantonment station:
Dwarka Road Dwarka Flyover Delhi Cantonement (towards Gopi Nath Bazar)
Airport Road
E-rickshaw parking and charging points Handmade tiles Rooftop art installations
Tile patterns directing train’s entry and exit positions
Glass separations at AFC gates