On Wednesday, the Delhi Metro began test runs on a 10.47-km portion of the upcoming 58.59-km Pink Line. (File Photo)
On Wednesday, the Delhi Metro began test runs on a 10.47-km portion of the upcoming 58.59-km Pink Line. The IP Extension-Maujpur section of the line being tested has nine elevated stations — IP Extension, Anand Vihar, Karkardooma, Karkardooma Court, Krishna Nagar, East Azad Nagar, Welcome, Jaffrabad and Maujpur.
The Pink Line, which is expected to be operational in a few months, is the longest corridor of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and will connect Majlis Park in northwest Delhi to Shiv Vihar in northeast Delhi.
Three stations — Anand Vihar, Karkardooma and Welcome — have interchange facility on this stretch. Commuters can change for the Blue Line (Dwarka Sector 21-Noida City Centre/Vaishali) at Anand Vihar and Karkardooma stations, and for the Red Line (Dilshad Garden-Rithala) at Welcome station.
Just like the recently operational Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro, the Pink Line, too, will come equipped with Unattended Train Operation (UTO) mode. “It will also have the new signaling technology, Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) which will undergo rigorous testing… response of train at different speeds, braking of the train, behaviour of the track system, among others,” said a DMRC official.
The trains have been stabled at Vinod Nagar Depot, which can accommodate 32 trains. A DMRC official said, “Due to uneven twists and turns in the alignment, the Delhi Metro had to construct 10 curves on this stretch that passes through very congested areas such as IP Extension, Anand Vihar, Welcome and Seelampur, among others.”
The Maujpur station, too, can become an interchange station, which will connect Maujpur to Mukundpur, in case a corridor proposed in Phase-IV of the Delhi Metro project is passed by the Delhi government.