Sreedharan inspects Ghaziabad corridor, launches trial runs

Ahead of its July 9 inauguration, trial runs have begun on the Anand Vihar-Vaishali Metro line.

Ahead of its July 9 inauguration, trial runs have begun on the Anand Vihar-Vaishali Metro line.

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On Thursday, DMRC chief E Sreedharan inspected the extension of the Metro line that will link the national Capital with Ghaziabad.

DMRC officials said another seven to 10 days will be dedicated to the night trial runs on the Ghaziabad stretch to assess the functioning of tracks, signalling systems and overhead electrification among others.

The two stations —Kaushambi and Vaishali — will have integrated traffic management system with dedicated parking bays for autos, buses, cars and cycle-rickshaws, they added. Cycle-rickshaws and autos are the two most commonly available internal-transport systems en route the Metro stretch in Ghaziabad.

According to Delhi Metro’s detailed project report, around 40,000 passengers are expected to use this stretch on a daily basis once it gets operational. People from Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Kaushambi and Vaishali will be highly benefited once the corridor is thrown open.

The 2.57-km Metro corridor will reduce commuting time between Ghaziabad and Delhi significantly.

“While it normally takes about 45 minutes to travel by road from Vaisahali to ITO, the same distance will be covered in approximately 25 minutes by Metro,” said a DMRC official.

The corridor will also benefit hundreds of shoppers and mall hoppers, as Ghaziabad houses several shopping malls.

Meanwhile, the Ghaziabad administration has given instructions to the concerned agencies to speed up the work on Link Road project that involves its widening from six to eight lanes to ensure better mobility of transport to the two Metro stations.

The widening is underway from UP Gate stretch to Meerut tri-junction near the new bus-stand area and currently held up due to shifting of electricity transmission lines and electric-poles between the roads.

Ghaziabad police will also set up a specialised police post for the external security of the Vaishali Metro station. “The two stations will become the most important part of the district’s vital installations,” said Raghubir Lal, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Ghaziabad.

He said two dedicated PCR vans will also be placed at the stations for commuters’ security.