Delhi Metro Janakpuri-Kalkaji Magenta Line, touted as 'knowledge corridor', to have India's tallest escalator

NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro Magenta Line, which will enhance connectivity between west and south Delhi, will be thrown open to the public on May 29, Tuesday. The Magenta Line has been extended from Janakpuri to Kalkaji and the 25.6 km corridor will also cut travel time from Janakpuri to Noida.

After the formal inauguration of the Janakpuri-Kalkaji section of Magenta Line, the travel time from Delhi to Gurgaon will be reduced to just 50 minutes. However, one of its prime attractions would be a 15.6-metre long escalator, which would be the country's tallest. 

According to Delhi Metro officials, the escalator on Janakpuri West Metro station would be as tall as a five-storey building.

The much-awaited section will be inaugurated on May 28 by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from Nehru Enclave Metro station.

The 25.6 km long corridor will be the longest opened so far in Delhi Metro's Phase 3 and will enhance connectivity in Delhi-NCR. With this, the entire 38.2 kilometre Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden Magenta Line covering the Outer Ring Road will become operational.

Magenta Line will have 25 stations in total. Of these, 10 will be elevated and 15 will be underground. The 16 stations on this corridor are - Janakpuri West, Dabri Mor, Dashrathpuri, Palam, Sadar Bazar, Terminal 1 - IGI Airport, Shankar Vihar, Vasant Vihar, Munirka, RK Puram, Hauz Khas, IIT, Panchsheel Park, Chirag Delhi, GK Enclave and Nehru Enclave. 

Of the 16 stations, only two - Sadar Bazar and Shankar Vihar - are elevated and the rest is underground.

Auto-rickshaw, car drop points at some stations of Magenta line section

Some of the stations on the upcoming Janakpuri West-Kalkaji Mandir section of the Delhi Metro's Magenta line that are in the vicinity of the Outer Ring Road will have drop-points for auto-rickshaws and cars.

''From Vasant Vihar to Nehru Enclave, which will be located in the vicinity of the Outer Ring Road, adequate traffic management arrangements have been at the entry and exit points of the stations as per the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) guidelines, Anuj Dayal, the executive director, corporate communications, DMRC,'' told reporters here.

Separate auto and car drop off facilities have been made at the entry points. All the stations also have bus stands within 100 metres of the entry/exit points, he added. 

At Vasant Vihar, Panchsheel Park and Nehru Enclave, auto stand facilities have also been put in place while at IIT, cycle paths have been created so that the students from IIT can cycle to the station. 

At all stations, there will be provision for the parking of vehicles of handicapped passengers near the lifts which will be connected with the help of a ramp. 

Adequate signages will be put up at all drop off points, auto parking stands, handicapped parking spaces for the convenience of the passengers, said the official. 

All necessary design changes notwithstanding space constraints have been effected to make space for drop-off points for autos, cars, intermediate public transport etc, he added. 

Delhi Metro's Magenta Line touted as 'knowledge corridor'

The Delhi Metro's Magenta Line, covering the city's arterial Outer Ring Road, is being touted as the 'knowledge corridor' as it connects four major universities of the National Capital Region. 

The Janakpuri West-Kalkaji Mandir section will help the students commute easily to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) among others. 

''The Magenta line will be a boon for the student community of the city and can be called the Delhi Metro's knowledge corridor,'' Anuj Dayal, Executive Director, Corporate Communications, DMRC, told reporters.

The Jamia Milia Islamia University and Noida's Amity University got Metro connectivity with the opening of the Botanical Garden Kalkaji Mandir section in December last year. 

While IIT will have a dedicated station by the same name, the Munirka station in the Magenta Line will cater to JNU which will be within a distance of about two kilometres. The Jamia Milia Islamia station caters to the Jamia Milia Islamia University and the Amity University has an adjacent station--Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Dayal said. 

Last year, Magenta Line's Botanical Garden-Kalkaji stretch was made operational. 

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