IGI’s T1 to get metro link for first time, travel time from Noida to Gurgaon cut to 50 mins

The eagerly awaited Kalkaji Mandir-to-Janakpuri West section of Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line is likely to be opened for use next week. The safety inspection of the over 25-km section by the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), which began on May 8, concluded on Thursday and its report is expected in the coming days. Once CMRS gives the go ahead, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will announce the date for the section to start operations.

A 12.6-km section of the corridor between Botanical Garden in Noida and Kalkaji Mandir was inaugurated in December last year. The remaining section, when opened, will put Vasant Vihar, Munirka, Indian Institute of Technology, Greater Kailash, Chirag Dilli and other localities in south Delhi on the Delhi Metro map and bring this region of the capital closer to Noida and west Delhi. The domestic terminal of the Indira Gandhi International Airport will also get a metro link for the first time. 

The Hauz Khas metro station will become an interchange station and provide inter-connectivity for the Yellow Line (HUDA City Centre-Samaypur Badli) and Magenta Line. Through this connectivity, the travelling time between Gurgaon and Noida will be brought down by at least half an hour to around 50 minutes, a DMRC spokesperson claimed. 

The Janakpuri West station on the Blue Line (Dwarka-Noida/Vaishali) will similarly become an interchange station and provide additional access to areas in south Delhi and Noida from west Delhi. The interchange will take place at the first station of the new Phase 3 corridor and will connect the Blue Line with, among other, Terminal 1 of IGIA, Munirka, Hauz Khas, Nehru Place and Botanical Garden in Noida. “The Magenta Line will also act as a feeder for the Blue Line as its two originating station .. 

For lakhs of west Delhi residents, their one connection to the rest of the city is the Blue Line, but this involves travelling up to Rajiv Chowk and changing trains if they are to visit other parts of Delhi-NCR. This will change because the new corridor will pass through and connect heavily populated areas like Palam, Dabri, Mahavir Enclave, Sagarpur and Dashrathpur. 

IGIA also become more accessible. While the Airport Express Line has a stop at Terminal 3, there was no metro connectivity for the domestic terminals from which the low-cost operators fly. Now, the domestic terminal can be reached from most parts of the capital and also from Gurgaon and Noida, thanks to the many interchange points that allow changing to the Magenta Line. For passengers coming from south Delhi areas, the journey to the airport will now be of just 20 minutes’ duration, while from  .. 

While Delhi University got metro connectivity years ago, Jamia Millia Islamia was also put on the metro map last year when the first section of the Magenta Line opened. With the opening of the second section of the line, Delhi Metro would also come close to Jawaharlal Nehru University with a station at Munirka, a stone’s throw away. The Indian Institute of Technology, on the other hand, is getting a station named after it right next to the campus. 

DMRC has constructed nine subways on Outer Ring Road to facilitate entry and exit from stations on the new line. These are located near the stations at Munirka, RK Puram, IIT, Panchsheel Park, Chirag Delhi, Greater Kailash and Nehru Enclave. “These subways will work as entry/exit structures and also as independent free subways for the pedestrians. All subways have stairs, escalators and lifts,” the DMRC spokesperson said.