Metro line linking Noida with IGI Airport likely to open by year-end
The under-construction 3.9-km Kalindi Kunj-Botanic Garden Metro link is likely to open to public by the end of the year.
The under-construction 3.9-km Kalindi Kunj-Botanic Garden Metro link is likely to open to public by the end of the year, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Noida authority said on Thursday. The trial run on the line is expected to start on September 1.
The 3.9-km stretch is part of a 33-km Janakpuri West-Kalindi Kunj network that will cover Noida and Delhi. Once operational, the line will be a direct link between Noida and the Inidira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The line was scheduled to be operational by March 2017, officials said.
The Noida authority has funded the 3.9-km stretch. The authority will on Friday hold a meeting with DMRC to discuss the progress of the line, which is almost 80% ready, officials said.
“We, for the first time, will use communication-based train control (CBTC) system on this 33-km metro corridor in India. CBTC has not been used on any metro line anywhere in our country. It is an ambitious trial. Work on the link is at a very advanced stage,” said Anuj Dyal spokesperson of DMRC.
“We have built 80 of the 101 pillars on the 3.9-km link. A bridge across the Yamuna is almost ready. We have built 14 of the 15 pillars for the bridge that will connect the Noida stretch with Delhi,” said another DMRC official.
Electrical and civil work is also on in full swing.
“We wanted the project to be ready before the deadline because it will be very helpful to commuters . It will be a direct link between Noida and IGI Airport,” said Saumya Srivastava, deputy chief executive officer (DCEO) of the Noida authority.
The 33-km Janakpuri West-Kalindi Kunj corridor will have stations at Jamia Milia Islamia, Kalkaji, Okhla, Nehru Place, IIT, Hauz Khas, RK Puram, Munirka, Vasant Vihar, IGI domestic terminal, Palam and Janakpuri, among others. The Kalindi Kunj-Botanic Garden line will have two stations -- Okhla bird sanctuary and Kalindi Kunj.
The Noida authority and DMRC signed a memorandum of understanding for the 3.9-km elevated line in July 2014. The estimated cost of the project is `874 crore. The DMRC started the work on the stretch in December 2014.
Around 48,000 commuters are expected to use this section.
