New Central Secretariat, Mandi House line may open in March

The Central Secretariat-Mandi House metro stretch is set to become the first corridor built in phase 3 to become operational.

The Central Secretariat-Mandi House metro stretch is set to become the first corridor built in phase 3 to become operational.

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If everything goes as per plan, this 3-km stretch — part of the underground Central Secretariat-Kashmere Gate corridor — will start operations within three weeks after a safety inspection by the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), RK Kardam.The Delhi Metro will send a formal invite to Kardam to inspect the line this week, said officials.

“The project work and trial of running trains are on the verge of completion. The preliminary inspection by Delhi Fire Service has been completed and we are awaiting clearance within a few days,” said Anuj Dayal, chief spokesperson, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). “We are making our utmost efforts to make the line open for commuter operations by end of March.”

Once operational, this stretch, which has two new stations - Janpath station and Mandi House interchange - would cater to an average of 70,000 commuters daily to begin with. Eventually, 1.5 lakh commuters are expected to shift from Rajiv Chowk to the Mandi House interchange station. The current ridership of Mandi House station is 10,000.

Presently, commuters on the Badarpur corridor have to change two trains - at Central Secretariat and Rajiv Chowk - to get to the Blue Line (Noida/Anand Vihar-Dwarka). The Mandi House interchange station will allow them to switch to the Blue Line directly.

This corridor will benefit people at Central Secretariat, Janpath, Connaught Place, Mandi House, National School of Drama, High Court, Bengali Market, Barakhamba Road.

“The commuters on the Blue Line will be able to switch to the Violet Line (Central Secretariat-Badarpur) at the Mandi House metro station itself, which would provide interchange facilities,” Dayal said.

The new Mandi House station is coming up next to the existing one. The interconnected two station buildings together would make Mandi House station an interchange station. The new station building is on standard gauge with island platforms, while the old one is on broad gauge with side platforms, officials added.