New Delhi: After missing its deadline on
the Noida Corridor, the Delhi Metro is racing against time to
inaugurate its Anand Vihar line as per schedule by the end of
next month, which will benefit thousands of people in east
Delhi and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
The 6.17 km stretch connecting Yamuna Bank with Anand
Vihar, which will be integrated with the newly-constructed
railway terminal, is scheduled to be opened to the public by
the end of next month.
DMRC officials say the inauguration of the line is
subject to the availability of trains and progress of work on
the line.
"The civil work is 95 percent complete and the
stations will be ready by next month. Work on Over Head
Electrification (OHE) and signalling are being done," a
senior official said.
Though DMRC chief E Sreedharan had earlier said the
line may be opened either in December or January next year,
Metro is keen to open the line by the end of December.
"Availability of trains is a major problem. Once the
trains are ready and the work is over we will inaugurate the
line," he said, adding that the line will need at least five
trains.
Known for finishing projects well ahead of schedule,
Delhi Metro for the first time missed its deadline on the
Noida corridor, which was opened to public last week. The
deadline was October.
Availability of trains is a major problem for the
Delhi Metro as it needs more number of trains to tackle the
ever-growing rush. The DMRC has entered into a Rs 2,984 crore
deal with Bombardier under which DMRC will procure 83 broad
gauge trains by 2011.
It has already got 14 trains and is awaiting more so
that they can be put on various lines. Inaugurating the Anand
Vihar line and increasing the frequency on the Noida corridor
will be the priorities of the DMRC once it gets the new bunch
of trains.
Work is on full swing on the line with labourers
working round-the-clock to finish the construction by next
month. DMRC lost almost three months on this line due to an
accident at its site in Laxmi Nagar in October last year.
Two people were killed when an under-construction
bridge collapsed on October 19, 2008. Officials said this gave
no time for them to finish construction before the deadline.
The section, once opened, is expected to draw huge
crowds given the number of people who depend on private mode
of transport to reach the national capital. With Anand Vihar
located on the border of Uttar Pradesh, people from that state
will also use the Metro to come to Delhi.
Though DMRC projects that over 1 lakh will join the
new age transport system by 2011, it is expected to be much
higher with Noida line being an example.
While the DMRC projected that 53,000 people will join
the metro system by 2011 on the Noida line, over 1 lakh people
have been travelling on the Metro ever since it was opened to
the public last week.
The entirely elevated Anand Vihar line will have five
stations — Laxmi Nagar, Nirman Vihar, Preet Vihar, Karkardooma
and Anand Vihar ISBT.
The Anand Vihar station complex will be internally
connected to the railway station with a foot overbridge and an
existing ISBT which will sport a new look before the
Commonwealth Games.
DMRC has also begun work on the line from Anand Vihar
to Vaishali. Officials said the work on this 2.67km line will
be completed before the Commonwealth Games.
Bureau Report
