From Monday, commute from Noida to South Delhi will take 20 minutes

Ten trains will be used for operations and two more trains — one each at Kalkaji Mandir and Botanical Garden — will be kept on standby.

Residents of Noida and daily commuters who travel towards South Delhi and Faridabad are eagerly awaiting the opening of the 12.64-kilometre Botanical Garden-Kalkaji Mandir Metro link, as it will reduce their travel time to 20 minutes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath are scheduled to open this much awaited Metro Link to the public on December 25. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

Residents said the link will save their time as well as money. “I travel by Metro to Kalkaji Mandir every Friday to offer prayers. At present, I spend Rs50 and 50 minutes to reach Kalkaji as I board a Metro from Botanical Garden to Mandi House and then change trains to reach Kalkaji Mandir. Now, I will reach Kalkaji Mandir in just 20 minutes and only spend Rs30 for the journey. It feels like South Delhi has come closer to Noida through this new Metro link,” MC Bharadwaj, general secretary, Sector 34 RWA, said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath are scheduled to open this much awaited Metro Link to the public on December 25. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Friday gave the media a preview of the services.

According to the DMRC, trains will be available at a frequency of 5 minutes and 14 seconds. Ten trains will be used for operations and two more trains — one each at Kalkaji Mandir and Botanical Garden — will be kept on standby.

Students were also excited at the prospect of using the new Metro route, as it not only offers a cheaper alternative but also ensures their safety in public transport.

“The new Metro link will be extremely beneficial for us girls, who have to travel to Delhi every day. Usually, we depend on the blue and violet lines, which takes at least 45 to 50 minutes to reach Greater Kailash and Kalkaji in South Delhi. This new service will make travel convenient to us,” Komal Prajapati, a 2nd-year student of Government Degree College, Sector 39, said.

Shubham Choudhary, a resident of Noida Sector 52 who studies in BJMC at Trinity Institute of Professional Studies, Rohini, Delhi, said,“As I live in Noida and my college is in Rohini, Delhi, Metro is the most convenient and cheapest mode of transport for me. We also have to travel to different places after our college hours and the new Metro line will help us in saving time travelling from South Delhi to Noida and also saves us from Delhi’s traffic jams. The new line will benefit all students.”

Prince Sharma, a 3rd student of Government Degree College, Sector 39, Noida, said,“The new Metro link will not only assist the students economically but will also save their precious time. Now, we have to use different routes to travel to Nehru Place and other places in South Delhi but the direct line will ensure that our time is saved. We welcome this Metro line,” he said.