Metro enters Noida, set to change travelling habits of people

Scripting yet another chapter in its history, the Delhi Metro today crossed the capital for the first time as a brand new train chugged into Noida.

The Metro's move into the satellite township of Delhi is expected to bring a paradigm shift in the travelling habits of people in the National Capital Region.

The 13.1 km Yamuna Bank-Noida line was inaugurated by Union urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy in the presence of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and DMRC managing director E Sreedharan at the newly-built Akshardham station.

Reddy and Dikshit flagged off the fully decorated first train to the Noida City Centre (Sector-32). This was the first time a Metro train formally entered Uttar Pradesh.

Two hours later, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati received the train at the Noida City Centre station and flagged off the first train from there. She also travelled on the Metro till Noida Sector 16 and back to the city centre station.

Sreedharan and other DMRC officials also participated in a special pooja and havan at the Noida station on the occasion of the inauguration. The line, which will be open for the public from 6 am tomorrow, will benefit thousands of people in east Delhi, trans-Yamuna areas and Noida.

DMRC's estimate is that about 53,000 people will daily use the new age transport system after the opening of the Noida corridor. The Noida corridor, built at a cost of Rs630 crore, is completely elevated and will be integrated with the existing 34.3 km Yamuna Bank-Dwarka Sector-9 segment, extending the total length of Line-3 to 47.4 km.

"Today's celebration marks the extension of legendary Metro into Uttar Pradesh and by the end of next year before the Commonwealth Games all the projects of Phase-II will be completed ... DMRC is one of the greatest achievements in India in recent years," Reddy told reporters at the Akshardham Station after flagging off the first train.

"Delhi Metro is one of the best metros in the world. We were able to achieve this feat partly due to the legendary contribution of Sreedharan and latest technologies that were available to us. Delhi Metro provides better facilities than metros in New York and London," he said.

Dikshit said, "Today is an exciting day as the Delhi Metro will step out of its confined border from the capital and enter the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is indeed a great occasion as the people of Noida will also get metro facilities."

After flagging off the first train from Noida, Mayawati said metro connectivity to Noida will help students, traders, professionals and people who travel from Noida to Delhi everyday. This is the first line where the DMRC missed its deadline.

The line was scheduled for opening in October. Noida has become the first National Capital Region (NCR) city to be connected to the Metro network which now extends to almost 90 km and covers 78 stations. (DMRC officials said that initially, two trains coming from Dwarka will terminate at Yamuna Bank while every third train will continue up to NOIDA City Centre.

Initially, the frequency of trains would be 5-10 minutes. As more trains become available, every alternate train from Yamuna Bank will continue to NOIDA.

The DMRC will run eight brand-new broad guage trains procured from Bombardier on the line and will also introduce more trains to tackle rush on the section.

Decks were cleared for the DMRC to cross Delhi and enter NCR in July when Parliament passed a Bill to give legal cover for construction, operation and maintenance of the metro rail system in the NCR and other metro cities.

Reddy said there are many demands from authorities in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for extension of Metro to cities like Faridabad and Ghaziabad. "We would like to go as far as possible provided the routes are economically viable. Economic viability is an important criteria and these demands will be taken up as soon as possible," he added.

The Urban development minister said the Centre has decided to introduce Metro trains in all cities which have a population of more than two million.

"Delhi Metro is a tremendously successful project. We will repeat the performance of Delhi Metro in other cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai," Reddy said.