PM Modi To Launch Part Of Delhi Metro's Magenta Line On Christmas

New Delhi: The Kalkaji Mandir-Botanical Garden stretch of the upcoming Magenta line of the Delhi Metro between Janak Puri and Noida will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25, the DMRC said today. The 12.64-km section, which will reduce travel time between Noida and south Delhi, was granted safety approval by the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) last month.

The Delhi Metro's new generation trains, which can run without drivers, will also ply on this section. An advanced Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling technology will ensure movement of trains with a frequency of 90 to 100 seconds. However, for the two-three years, the trains will have drivers.

Right now, commuters in south Delhi change trains at Mandi House Metro Station to reach Noida. After the new section is thrown open, they will not have to break their journey which will save them 45 minutes.

Once the entire corridor from Botanical Garden till Janakpuri West (38.23 km) is opened, commuters from Noida will be able to go to Gurgaon by changing trains at Hauz Khas. The Botanical Garden has been developed as the Metro's first-ever inter-change station outside Delhi.

In another first, the construction work of two parallel tunnels on this corridor was completed simultaneously at Dabri Mor. Two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), 'Riddhi' and 'Siddhi', emerged at the Dabri Mor station after boring 1.2 kilometre-long twin tunnels. The first such instance of a twin breakthrough had happened on the 8.6 kilometre-long Toronto-York Spadina subway extension in 2002.

"The construction of these tunnels was a major engineering challenge as they passed below thickly populated residential as well as commercial areas consisting of schools, temples, hospitals etc. Extensive geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring was done to ensure the safety of the structures above," Anuj Dayal, Corporate Communications Executive Director, said.