Full Magenta Line to start operations on May 29

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Delhi Metro's Magenta Line will become fully operational on May 29 when the stretch from Kalkaji Mandir to Janakpuri West starts, cutting short travel time from Noida in Uttar Pradesh to west Delhi, it was announced on Monday.

The 25.6-km corridor will be formally flagged off by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on May 28 at 4.30 p.m. from the Nehru Enclave Metro station.

The portion of the line from Botanical Garden in Noida to Kalkaji Mandir in south Delhi started in December.

The stretch due to open for public on May 29 will have interchange stations at Janakpuri West and Hauz Khas, allowing commuters to connect with Blue Line (Noida City Centre/Vaishali-Dwarka Sector 21) and Yellow Line (Huda City Centre-Samaypur Badli) respectively.

"The domestic terminals of the Indira Gandhi International Airport will also get directly connected by the Metro... Residents of Noida will also get direct connectivity to the domestic terminal of the airport," the Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC) said in a statement.

The Majenta line will link west Delhi directly with some key areas in south Delhi, eventually crossing the Yamuna river to enter Noida.

The stations on this corridor are: Janakpuri West, Dabri Mor, Dashrathpuri, Palam, Sadar Bazar, Terminal 1-IGI Airport, Shankar Vihar, Vasant Vihar, Munirka, R.K. Puram, Hauz Khas, IIT, Panchsheel Park, Chirag Delhi, G.K. Enclave and Nehru Enclave.

Of the 25.6 km section, 23 km is underground and the rest is elevated. Only Sadar Bazar and Shankar Vihar stations are elevated. The remaining ones are all underground.

With the commissioning of this section, the entire Delhi Metro corridor will expand to 278 km with 202 stations, DMRC said.

Delhi Metro, which opened in 2002, now ferries about 27 lakh passengers daily during working days.

Besides the Airport Express, Delhi Metro has Red, Yellow, Blue, Violet, Magenta, Pink and Green lines criss-crossing the capital and connecting Gurgaon in Haryana as well as Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.