A first: Underground Metro station to have parking lot

The first-of-its-kind parking lot, which is being built at one end of the nearly five-km corridor, will be about 200 metres in length, and 32 metres in width, and will cover an area of about 64,000 square metre, the DMRC said.

The Delhi Metro is on its way to bring another first to its network. The Dhansa Bus Stand in the upcoming Grey Line, will become the first underground station in the city’s Metro network to have an underground floor dedicated for parking.

With this section, the Metro network for the first time will venture into the rural belt of Najafgarh. (Sourced)

Senior Metro officials said the Dhansa Bus Stand station has been designed as a four-level structure, three of which – parking facility, followed by the concourse (where tickets will be issued) and then the platform – which will all be below ground level.

“The platform will be at an approximate depth of 21 metres below ground level. Above it will be the concourse floor and then an entire level will be reserved for parking,” a Metro spokesperson said.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said construction work for the new Grey Line will be completed by September this year and by year end, the line will be thrown open for commuters.

The Dwarka-Dhansa Bus Stand section will have four stations — Dwarka, Nangli, Najafgarh and Dhansa Bus Stop.

With this section, the Metro network for the first time will venture into the rural belt of Najafgarh.

The first-of-its-kind parking lot, which is being built at one end of the nearly five-km corridor, will be about 200 metres in length, and 32 metres in width, and will cover an area of about 64,000 square metre, the DMRC said.

The facility has been designed to accommodate almost 130 cars.

Officials of the DMRC said the idea behind constructing the parking facility was to benefit the local residents as adjoining areas of Najafgarh are extremely congested, with very limited space for parking.

The parking will have ramps on both sides for entry and exit of vehicles.

“Along with space for parking, there would also be provision for property development activities at the ground level in future,” the spokesperson added.

Officials involved in the design of the station said the upcoming parking lot can be considered a major design improvement since no other underground station in the Delhi Metro network has gone below ground level to provide parking to commuters.

“At present, the Hindon River Metro station on the Dilshad Garden – Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda) Line has a basement parking facility, though it is an elevated station. The New Delhi station of the Airport Express Line has a multilevel parking lot above the station,” a senior Metro official said.

The Delhi Metro network is currently operating parking lots at about 100 stations in the national Capital region.