Delhi Metro's Pink Line is all set to become the rail network's longest operational corridor from Friday onward. This will help commuters save time and money as the Trilokpuri gap on the line has been plugged.
The Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor or the Pink Line covers 38 stations.
However, a small portion of east Delhi's Trilokpuri area had turned to be a bottleneck for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) authorities for a long time, due to which the line had remained disjointed for some distance there.
The opening of the Trilokpuri section, about 289 metres, between the Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stations, on August 6 will fully link the entire 59 km-long Pink Line for the first time.
It will also connect important landmarks of the city - the Anand Vihar Railway station, Anand Vihar ISBT, Nizamuddin Railway station, markets in South Extension, INA and Lajpat Nagar, officials said.
The much-delayed completion of the Pink Line will also immensely benefit residents of east Delhi and those travelling to that region, as the Trilokpuri gap had resulted in the corridor being operated in two separate segments.
The gap in the line was expected to be plugged by September 2020, but it was delayed due to the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, sources had said earlier.
The Pink Line was opened in multiple phases in 2018. And, all stations on the line have been opened.
The bottleneck near Triloklouri station had arisen due to multiple issues, including land acquisition.
With operations set to begin August 6, this section will connect the two ends of the Pink Line and provide seamless connectivity to a long range of localities in the National Capital Region.
DMRC authorities on Wednesday said with this seamless connectivity, commuters will also save time and money.
There will be a reduction of about 20 minutes in travel time, from HUDA City Centre (Gurgaon) to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake and vice versa, as after opening of this section, there will be only one interchange station i.e. Delhi Haat-INA instead of two interchange stations as of now, officials said.
Travel from Raja Nahar Singh-Ballabhgarh (Faridabad) to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake or vice versa, will be 25 minutes faster after the opening of this section. There will be only one interchange station i.e. Lajpat Nagar instead of two interchange stations currently.
Commuters travelling from NOIDA City Center or Botanical Garden to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake and vice versa will save 20 minutes. There will be only one interchange station i.e. Mayur Vihar Poket-1 instead of two interchange stations as of now.
Also, there will be travel time reduction of about 20 mins both ways, on Delhi Haat-INA to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake or Lajpat Nagar to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake routes.
The full connectivity of Pink Line will also save money for riders, as fares will be reduced by Rs 30 for Trilokpuri to Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 section and vice versa, officials said.
"Reduction in fare by Rs 20 will be in 38 sections (to and fro) and important key locations like Lajpat Nagar, NOIDA City Centre, Botanical Garden, Mohan Estate to Trilokpuri or vice versa; reduction in fare by Rs 10 will be in in 524 sections (to and fro)," the DMRC said.
Presently, 43 trains, including standby trains, operate on these two separate sections of Pink Line - Majlis Park to Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 section has 30 trains including standby ones; Trilokpuri to Maujpur/Shiv Vihar has 13 trains, including standby ones, the officials said.
After the integration of the missing link, same set of trains will be utilised. However, detailed operational plan is yet being chalked out, a senior official said.
The Pink Line is now going to be connected end-to-end, establishing it as the longest operational line of the network, he said.
This corridor will further be extended from Majlis Park to Maujpur in Phase-IV, making it the longest single metro corridor in India at approximately 70 km. After completion of the Phase-IV, the Pink Line will also become the only Ring Corridor of Metro in the country.
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