On 20th anniversary of Delhi Metro, commuters given ride on first train

The first Delhi Metro train was flagged off on December 24, 2002 by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on the 8.4km-long Shahadara to Tis Hazari corridor of the red line.

New Delhi: he Delhi Metro on Saturday completed 20 years of operations and marked the occasion by giving people a ride in its first train, which was flagged off on December 24, 2002 by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on the 8.4km-long Shahadara to Tis Hazari corridor of the red line.

The first Delhi Metro train, at Seelampur station, on December 24, 2002. (HC Tiwari/HT Archive)

The event on Saturday was marked by the inauguration of a special exhibition at Welcome Metro station on the red line. It which offers glimpses of Delhi Metro’s landmark moments in the past 20 years, as well as the partnership of Delhi Metro and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other Japanese organisations that have supported Delhi Metro in its journey till now. The exhibition also celebrates 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.

Suzuki Hiroshi, the Japanese ambassador to India, inaugurated the exhibition after taking a ride in the first Metro train. “Delhi Metro made great contribution towards the deepening of friendship between Japan and India. The scale of progress of Delhi Metro has overtaken the Tokyo Metro in the past 20 years,” said Suzuki.

The special train was decorated with flowers on Saturday. Many passengers were pleasantly surprised to ride in the historic train