Delhi Metro is a massive transportation network that connects you to almost all of Delhi. It is one of the most impressive and comfortable transit systems in the whole country. The metro tracks reach upto an area of 390.14 kilometre, both overground and underground. The network consists of 286 stations, and makes it easy to travel interstate as well. Stations are also spawned across Greater Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad connecting all of Delhi and the National Capital Region. Approximately 4.7 million people use the metro everyday. Metros in Delhi run 4300 times a day. The total ridership for 2023 was 203 crore rupees. The chairman of Delhi metro is Manoj Joshi and the director for management is Vikas Kumar.
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The Delhi Metro construction was divided into 3 phases. In phase one and two, radial lines were constructed while in phase three, the task of constructing harder tracks, like the semicircular ones, was taken care of. The train runs at a speed of 80kmph and a waiting time of 20 seconds happens at each station for passengers to get on and off. The trains usually arrive within 4 minutes, only if you aren’t travelling during rush hours. Tracks also vary according to lines, some of them have the standards gauge tracks while others have the broad gauge ones. One of the busiest metro stations of Delhi Metro is Rajiv Chowk. It is the metro station in central Delhi located in Connaught Place. This metro station facilitates a lot of interchanges, making it the most crowded one.
History of Delhi Metro
There is no doubt that Delhi Metro has completely shifted the transportation scene of Delhi. It is available at a reasonable price and also provides a safe and convenient environment for travelling. Not only that, but it is also environmentally friendly as it eliminates the need for private transport.
The original idea of Delhi Metro was first introduced by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the year 1948. After testing the feasibility of this system by the Delhi Transportation Corporation, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was established in 1984. Approval was given to the first phase of operation in 1995, and the Prime Minister of the time, PV Narasimha Rao, laid the stone for the inauguration.
PHASE 1
The construction of the first phase finally began in the year 1998. The first line constructed was the red line. A distance of around 8.4 kilometres was covered between Shahdara and Tis Hazari and was opened to serve the public on 24 December 2002 by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Some expansion took place after that; tracks were mow 64.75 kilometres long due to the creation of red, yellow and blue lines.
PHASE 2
Construction in the second phase started out in 2003 by increasing the length of already existing lines and adding new ones as well. Some very prominent areas of the city were covered like Connaught Place, Delhi University, Pragati Maidan and more. The last stretch of this phase was created from the Central Secretariat to Qutub Minar on June 3 2010. Delhi metro tracks were now 123.3 km longer with 86 working stations and 10 new routes.
PHASE 3
Just like phase 2, the task of phase 3 was also to expand Delhi Metro by adding new line lines and extending old ones, mainly the pink and magenta line. Construction under the third phase began on 26 June 2014, by filling the stretch between central Secretariat and Mandi House. Phase 3 came to an end in 2017. Delhi Metro now had new lines that added 140 km to the already existing train tracks.
PHASE 4
The construction that is to be taken place under phase 4 had been approved and finalised by the government in 2018. Under this phase, massive construction is going to take place by adding new lines and expanding old ones. Some areas that are now going to be covered under Delhi Metro are Aerocity to Tughlakabad, Rithala to Narela, Janakpuri West to RK Ashram, Mukundpur to Maujpur, Majlis Park to Maujpur, Lajpat Nagar to Saket G-Block, and Tughlakabad to Terminal 1 IGI Airport. Some, if not all of these lines are expected to start functioning post the 2024 elections.
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Today, Delhi Metro has 10 lines along with a rapid express line which is known as the Rapid Metro Gurgaon. These lines are
- Red Line
- Yellow Line
- Blue Line
- Blue Line 2
- Green Line
- Violet Line
- Pink Line
- Magenta Line
- Orange Line
- Grey Line
Delhi Metro was the first train system to be given Carbon Credits by the United Nations for reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions (6,30,000 tonnes every year). Rainwater harvesting is carried out throughout the Blue Line stretch. The Hauz Khas is the deepest metro station in Delhi while Dhaula Kuan interchange is the highest point. The first underground train system in Delhi metro was under yellow line, stretching from Vishwavidyalayin to Kashmere Gate.
Delhi Metro now has a fully developed app called the DMRC app. On this app, you can check the routes and the distance and time they take. You can also book tickets or recharge your metro smart card, on which you get a ten percent discount as compared to the token price. They have also dismissed the plastic tokens and introduced paper QR tickets which are way better for the environment. A huge amount of films have been filmed in Delhi Metro, namely PK, Paa, Bang Bang!, Delhi 6 and so many more.