Delhi Metro stretch from South Campus to Lajpat Nagar to open Aug 6, connect four key markets

The section connecting Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus and Lajpat Nagar will jointly be inaugurated by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on August 6.

Commuters from west and north Delhi will soon be able to reach south Delhi without dealing with traffic snarls of the Ring Road. The stretch of the Pink Line connecting Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus and Lajpat Nagar will be opened for public on August 6, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said on Tuesday.

The colourful ceiling at the INA station on the Pink Line of the Delhi metro. (Mohd Zakir/HT PHOTO)

The new stretch would complement the Majlis Park-Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus section of the Pink Line, which has been operational since February.

The 8.1-km section will jointly be inaugurated by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on August 6, DMRC said.

“They will formally open the section around 11:30am using a remote control from Metro Bhawan. Passenger services will begin the same day from 1pm,” a statement issued by DMRC read.

With two interchange facilities available at INA (with Yellow Line) Lajpat Nagar (with Violet Line), the section will connect four major markets and will also cut travel time for commuters by at least 20 minutes.

The new stations on this line are Sir Vishweshwariah Moti Bagh, Bhikhaji Cama Place, Sarojini Nagar, INA, South Extension and Lajpat Nagar. Apart from Moti Bagh, all the new stations are underground.

This stretch is part of the 59km-long Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor (Pink Line), which falls under the Phase-3 network of the DMRC.

A total of 23 trains will be put into service, with a frequency of 5 minutes and 12 seconds during peak hours and 5 minutes and 45 seconds during non-peak hours, the DMRC said.

The approval for this section was given by the commissioner for metro rail safety (CMRS) on July 26, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions.

“The DMRC is working on the fulfilment of these conditions and all formalities will be completed soon,” said Dayal.