Noida/New Delhi: A stretch of Delhi Metro's Magenta Line was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.


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PM Modi launched the 12-km stretch of the Magenta Line, a part of the metro's phase-III construction, with a ride between the Botanical Garden and Okhla Bird Sanctuary stations in Noida around 1 pm.


He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief Mangu Singh during the metro ride.


It was a four-minute journey. Both the stations are in Noida. 







At 5 pm, the commercial services commenced on the line.


The other stations on this section are Kalindi Kunj, Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Millia Islamia, Okhla Vihar, Sukhdev Vihar, Okhla NSIC and Kalkaji Mandir. While the Kalkaji Mandir station is underground, all the other stations are elevated.


Initially, the trains will be operated with a frequency of 5.14 minutes on this section. With this launch, Botanical Garden became the first interchange station of the DMRC located outside Delhi's boundaries as it was already one of the stations on the Dwarka-Noida City Centre Blue Line.


Through this station, the commuters will be able to travel from Noida to various parts of south Delhi and the domestic terminal of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, when the entire Magenta Line becomes operational by March 2018.


Some features of the new line include platform screen doors, which are currently there only on the Airport Express Line and new generation trains, which can run on an unattended mode or without operators.


However, the DMRC has announced that for the time being, the trains will be operated manually.


Ten trains would operate on the new line, while two more would be kept in the reserve, one each at the Kalkaji Mandir and Botanical Garden stations, the DMRC said.


(With PTI inputs)