Delhi-NCR metro span to be 380 km by Dec

New Delhi: Commuters can now beat the heavy road traffic on Ring Roads in the national capital by taking Metro as the 24.82-km Kalkaji Mandir-Janakpuri West stretch of Delhi Metro's Magenta Line was thrown open to the public on Tuesday.

The corridor of the Magenta Line, part of Phase-III of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, was inaugurated on Monday by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs (Independent Charge) Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at Nehru Enclave metro station. 

"Services began from 6 am from Kalkaji Mandir and Janakpuri West stations simultaneously.

After the opening of this section, the operational span of the network built under Phase-III has expanded to 87 km," a senior DMRC official said. 

The corridor has 16 stations -- 14 underground, two elevated -- including one that caters to travellers moving in and out of the domestic terminal of the city airport (Terminal 1- IGI Airport station). With the opening of this stretch, the entire Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden Magenta Line corridor, covering the city's arterial Outer Ring Road, has become operational. 

Commuters travelling from Noida to Gurgaon can also bypass heavy Ring Road traffic in south Delhi and save time by at least 30 minutes. 

"After the inauguration of this vital link, the approximate time to commute between HUDA City Centre (end of Yellow Line on Gurgaon side) and Botanical Garden (on Blue Line in Noida) stations will be about 50 minutes," the DMRC official said.