Today PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a segment of Delhi Metro newly-built Magenta Line, which will connect Noida’s Botanical Gardena to Kalkaji Mandir in Delhi.
UP chief minister Yogi, Governor Ram Naik and managing director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Mr. Mangu Singh also graced the event. After the inauguration, all the dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took a ride on board the Magenta Line metro during its first public run.
This 12.64-km route shall be the first one of Delhi Metro to get driverless trains. Metro Corporation will be using Communication Based Train Control signaling technology in those trains, which will facilitate the movement of trains within a frequency of 100 seconds.
A senior officer said, “These trains will be driverless, but there will be roving attendants. We will keep this mechanism say for a year or two”.
Samajwadi Party (SP) workers today protested at the Botanical Garden metro, alleging PM Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath were taking credit for the work done by former Akhilesh Yadav on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line. Around hundred SP workers led by party leader Mr. Surendra Singh Nagar reached the metro station in the evening for the protest. They alleged the work on the project was started by former UP CM Yadav and “the PM and CM were taking credit for it”. “We will travel by metro train to Kalindi Kunj and return and tell people that the Magenta Line was started by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government,”
The Botanical Garden-Kalkaji section has total 9 stations. Apart from Kalkaji, all other stations are elevated roughly. Travel time between the two stations will be reduced from 52 minutes to 19 minutes on the Magenta Line. After completion of the entire line, it will run from Botanical Garden to West Janakpuri station.
The new line has platform screen doors on all 9 stations that will become operational from today 25th January, besides a high-tech signaling system that will allow the Delhi Metro Corporation to run trains with increased frequency. While Kalkaji station falls in Delhi, Botanical Garden station is located in Noida. The DM Rail Corporation authorities said that total ten trains will operate on this new line, while 2 will be kept on reserve, one each at Kalkaji and Botanical Garden stations.
The train running on this line have all the digital information display, power charging capacity, directly through USB ports, and seats in different color shades. The couches are also energy-efficient and will save about 20 % energy compared to the existing trains, the DMRC said.
The station, Botanical Garden already has been developed nicely as the first interchange station outside the boundaries of Delhi. With the commissioning of the new train line, the travel time between Delhi and Noida will be significantly reduced. The ride on this line from Botanical Garden to Kalkaji station takes around nineteen minutes while traveling through Blue or Violet Lines between the old stations takes more than fifty minutes, with interchange facility at Mandi House.
