Trial runs on the 6.5 kms Shakurpur and Mayapuri section of the longest Delhi Metro corridor — Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar (also known as the Pink Line) — under Phase-3 of the Metro network started on Thursday. Mangu Singh, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) flagged off the trial runs on the section.
Delhi Metro's new driverless trains (Unattended Train Operations) will operate on this 59-kms-long corridor connecting east and west Delhi, besides linking other parts of the Capital.
This section from Shakurpur to Mayapuri consists of five elevated stations —Shakurpur, Punjabi Bagh West, ESI Hospital, Rajouri Garden and Mayapuri. Rajouri Garden will be the interchange station on this section.
The Pink Line, will have 38 metro stations, including eight interchange stations. They have been laid like a circle to help link all parts of the city.
Metro authorities said the corridor will take maximum number of daily commuters on the Metro network, which is expected to cross 40 lakh after the opening of this corridor.
"The new trains with extremely high levels of automation, will now undergo rigorous trials between these stations to ensure that they are ready for smooth operations after the commissioning of the corridor. Initially, train operators will run the trains, but gradually, driverless operations (on the UTO mode) will be possible," said Singh.
According to officials, Phase-3 has been the most challenging projects of the Delhi Metro network.
"The construction of this section had to be completed by managing heavy traffic at various points on the Ring Road. Besides construction, land acquisition at Mayapuri and Punjabi Bagh also posed a bottleneck during construction. Major utility diversions also had to be carried out between Shakurpur to Mayapuri, like relocation of a box drain near Mayapuri," said a senior officer.
Also, since this section passes over two major slum clusters having 229 jhuggis, acquiring land here was another challenge, delaying the process for a long time, said officials.
