Gurgaon has never been so close

HT reporters try three modes of transport to travel from Central Secretariat to Huda City Centre

Mode Of travel: Metro
Time taken: 48 minutes

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It’s 5 pm. The rush of commuters is building up fast. I am at Central Secretariat station for a joyride — or rather a test ride — to figure out in how much time it will take for me to travel to Millennium city by Metro.
It takes me four minutes to buy a token of R25. Everyone wants to know from which platform the Metro will start for Huda City Centre.

At 5.14, I board the train to Gurgaon. Next to me is Somit Shankar, a student, who boarded the train from CP. He is going to Green Park and keeps looking at his watch. “I want to find out how much time it will take to reach Green Park from CP. By bus it takes 45-50 minutes if there are no jams,” he said.

At 5.17, the train has reached Race Course station, and in two minutes, Jor Bagh arrives.

It’s 5.20 pm as the Metro enters INA station. Anup Gupta is on his way to Saket with his friends. “I live in Model town and I love to hang out at PVR Saket. I’ll reach in almost half-an-hour, instead of 1 hour and 15 minutes by bus. South Delhi has never been so near, ” he said.

Shankar added: “If I had taken the bus I would still be caught in a jam near CP. In just 13 minutes, I have reached Green Park,” he said.

At 5.33 pm, in 23 minutes, the train reached Saket and a lot of people get down here. Soon the train emerges onto the
elevated route and one sees vast stretches of greenery — and of course, Qutb Minar.
And at 6.04 pm the train hurtles into the Huda City Centre station. The journey from Central Secretariat is completed in 48 minutes.

As the Metro stopped, people rushed downstairs. “You see I have to meet someone in sector 51, and now I have no option but to take rickshaw that will take at least R30 and at least 20
minutes. I hope we will soon have a feeder transport system...,” says Rakesh, a software professional.