The longest corridor in Delhi Metro's ambitious Phase-III project – the Pink Line (Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar) - is going to take as long as one more year for it to be thrown open to the public. The 59-km-long Pink Line, which will cover North, West, South and East Delhi and bridge the gap between several congested road stretches by over 15 km, had a completion deadline of December this year.
“In view of the delay in getting certain pockets of land for the project, the DMRC management is reviewing the trial schedules and subsequent opening of the lines to optimise the time loss to the maximum extent possible,” said Anuj Dayal, executive director (corporate communications), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The corridor will not be operational in its entirety before August next year, due to delay in getting land in certain pockets.
The delay in the completion of the civil works is further going to push the trial runs which in the Phase-III need to be rigorous for testing the new signalling system. “Since a new type of signalling system is being introduced for the first time in India, namely Communication Based Train Control, sufficient technical trial period will be needed for the same,” he added.
Two of the three piers erected on either side of NH 24as per the old plan had to be dismantled and one pier was modified as per the new plan chalked out after deliberations among DMRC, National Highways Authority and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This delay also affects the IP Extension station that is coming up.
Modification of stretch
DMRC began work on these sections after getting clearance from the Ministry in March, 2013. However, a year later NHAI informed DMRC that there should not be any Metro pier “within the 90 metres of Right of Way of National Highway 24, since the stretch was now a part of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway project.”
“The entire modification of this stretch, including demolition of already erected piers, redesigning of the new piers, has cost this stretch a delay of about eight months and a monetary burden of about Rs 8 crore,” said a metro official.
The elevated alignment of the corridor passes over National Highway 24 towards Ghaziabad at two locations, between Vinod Nagar and Vinod Nagar East and between IP Extension and the Vinod Nagar metro depot. The delay is linked to construction of pillars on these stretches.
Though work in other parts is nearing completion, the obstructions in these patches will hold back its final launch as these portions lead to the upcoming depot at Vinod Nagar.
