Two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a section of the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro, the remaining part of the line is set to open by March end. The line runs between Botanical Garden and Janakpuri West. Currently the section of the line between Botanical Garden and Kalkaji Mandir is functional.
Once the section between Kalkaji Mandir and Janakpuri West is operational, the travel time to Gurgaon from Noida, Faridabad and West Delhi will reduce by 45 minutes. Beside this, the line will also provide connectivity to the domestic terminal of the airport for the first time. It will also connect IIT and hostel area to Noida and Gurgaon.
In a three-part series, Hindustan Times takes a look at three important stations on the line — Hauz Khas, Terminal 1 and Janakpuri West.
Another station at Hauz Khas
The new station at Hauz Khas will come as a boon for commuters from Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Dwarka. Located right below the existing Hauz Khas station of HUDA City Centre-Samaipur Badli line, the station is the deepest underground station of the Delhi Metro network. According to an official of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), track of the new station is 32m deep, which is normally the height of a 10-storey building.
“After the inauguration of this vital link, the approximate time to commute between HUDA City Centre and Botanical Garden will be approximately 50 minutes. Presently, a Metro journey between these two stations takes about 90 minutes with an interchange at Rajiv Chowk,” said a DMRC spokesperson.
The new station is double the size of a normal Metro station since a massive crowd is expected once it becomes operational.
“Normally, a station is constructed in 16,000 square metres but the new Hauz Khas station is spread in 32,000 square metres. This has been done for the smooth flow of passengers. A daily footfall of about 1,69,414 is expected at the station as per the detailed project report. Presently, the footfall at Hauz Khas is approximately 40,000. The number of AC cooling sets has been doubled and about 22 escalators have been installed,” said a DMRC official, involved in the construction of this station.
◼ A subway connects the new and the old station. An already operational subway in the unpaid area of the station has been converted into a paid subway to connect the old and new stations
◼ To prevent disturbance to the residents, sound barriers were installed. These sound barriers led to about 32%-35% reduction in noise
◼ Earlier, the gates of the existing station were at the concourse. They have been brought to the ground level in the new interchange station
DMRC said that there will be paid area-to-paid area connectivity between the new and the old Hauz Khas stations, which means passenger will not have to come out of the Metro system to change trains. However, passengers will have to walk around 250 metres as the platforms for the two lines are at considerable distance.
“This new interchange station will contribute a lot in decongesting the Rajiv Chowk station, which registers a footfall of about 5 lakh commuters every day. The passengers travelling from Gurgaon to Noida and other South Delhi localities like Nehru Place, Kalkaji won’t have to go to Rajiv Chowk and can change trains at Hauz Khas,” the spokesperson added.
For the construction of the new station, it was not possible for DMRC to go below the existing station, as the foundation is 32 meters and the foundation for the flyover on Outer Ring Road is also located there.
“Therefore, if the new station had to be constructed below the existing station, we would have to go deep up to 42 metres, which would have been very difficult. So, the new station is adjacent to the existing station at a depth of 32 meters with a length of 265 meters,” said an engineer associated with the construction.
The station will also benefit the residents of Dwarka as they had to come all the way to Rajiv Chowk to board Gurgaon bound train and Mandi House for Faridabad bound train. Now, they can come till Janakpuri west, take a train for Hauz Khas and change for Gurgaon or Faridabad from there.
