The first section of Delhi Metro’s Pink Line between Majlis Park and Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus will open on Wednesday.
The 21.56 km-long corridor will be flagged off by Union Housing and Urban Affairs (independent charge) Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday at 4 p.m. from Metro Bhavan.
The section will connect the north and south campuses of the Delhi University, on the metro network for the first time, with a travel time of about 40 minutes.
Anuj Dayal, spokesperson of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, said, “From Vishwavidyalaya metro station to Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus station, it will take around 40 minutes, including time for interchange at Azadpur station.”
Azadpur Station (with Yellow Line) is one of the three interchange stations on the Pink Line stretch that opens on 14 March, the other two being Netaji Subhash Place (with Red Line) and Rajouri Garden (Blue Line).
The Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), who inspected the stretch from 26-28 February, has given clearance for the project.
This section, which has 12 stations, is part of the 59 km-long Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor (Pink Line–Line 7) of Delhi Metro’s Phase 3. All the stations have platform-screen doors.
The stations names are Majlis Park, Azadpur, Shalimar Bagh, Netaji Subhash Place, Shakurpur, Punjabi Bagh West, ESI Hospital, Rajouri Garden, Mayapuri, Naraina Vihar, Delhi Cantt and Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus.
Of the 12 stations, eight are elevated and the rest underground. Metro’s new generation trains, which can run without drivers, will also run on this section where an advanced Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling technology, that will facilitate the movement of trains with a frequency of 90 to 100 seconds, will also be pressed into service.
“Initially trains will be operated with a frequency of 3 minutes and 28 seconds between South Campus and Shakurpur stations during peak time and 4 minutes during off-peak hours.
Between Shakurpur and Majlis Park stations it will ply with a frequency of 5 minutes and 12 seconds during peak time and 6 minutes during off-peak hours,” according to the DMRC.
A total of 19 trains will be pressed into service for the entire section, it said. “For the first time travelators have been installed at the foot over bridges to facilitate interchange at Rajouri Garden and South Campus stations,” the official said.
“The metro train on this stretch will also cross Dhaula Kuan at a height of 23.6 m (as high as a seven-storey building) to reach South Campus from Majlis Park,” the DMRC said.