Record-setting Chhattarpur Metro station set to open by August end

Built in just nine months and with heat-resistant steel on 26,000 sq. m. area, the Chhattarpur Metro station is almost fully operational. The station along the much-awaited stretch between Central Secretariat and Qutub Minar will be open for commuters by the end of this month.

Built in just nine months and with heat-resistant steel on 26,000 sq. m. area, the Chhattarpur Metro station is almost fully operational. The station along the much-awaited stretch between Central Secretariat and Qutub Minar will be open for commuters by the end of this month.

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Apart from the station, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has also built a receiving sub-station (RSS) at Chattarpur, which will also be operational by end of this month and will supply power to the stations between Qutub Minar and HUDA City Centre.

Under pressure to make the Central Secretariat-HUDA City Centre metro corridor fully operational before the Commonwealth Games, the DMRC had to adopt a special design to construct the Chhattarpur station. Using special structural steel, the station was built in a record time of nine months — usually the minimum time required to build a station is 18 months.

"The conventional construction technique of making stations by concrete would have taken at least 18 months … which would have delayed the Metro line substantially. The DMRC which was trying to acquire this land since September 2006, was able to get the land in Chhattarpur only in October 2009 after prolonged litigation," said Anuj Dayal, DMRC spokesperson.

Due to shortage of time, the steel columns and other structures were pre-fabricated at a workshop in Gurgaon. These were then brought to Chhattarpur by trailers, where they were erected using cranes with long booms, informed DMRC officials.

"In a bid to ensure good quality control, we did not permit any welding activity at Chhattarpur and joined the steel structures by using bolting arrangements," Dayal said.

Around 12,000 passengers are expected to use the station every day. It will cater to Chhattarpur, Mehrauli village and Vasant Kunj area and also the huge number of devotees who will visit Chhattarpur temple, DMRC officials said.