Delhi Metro's new Magenta line to connect four major universities

New Delhi: The much awaited Delhi Metro's Magenta line will be fully operational from coming Tuesday (May 29), when the remaining stretch from Kalkaji Mandir to Janakpuri West will commence, cutting short travel time from Noida to West Delhi, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said on Thursday. The line will be thrown open for commuters at 4:30 pm on May 29.

The Magenta line can be known as Delhi Metro's 'Knowledge Corridor'. The new corridor will connect four major universities of the National Capital Region (NCR), which were not connected by the Metro so far. The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) are the institutions which will get Metro connectivity. Jamia Milia Islamia University and Amity University in Noida have already 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 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 Amity University has a station adjacent known as Okhla Bird Sanctuary, said in a statement. Moreover, "The domestic terminals of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) 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.

Anuj Dayal, spokesperson, DMRC said that 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. 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 the institute can cycle to the station, he added.

Dayal further said that there will be provision for the parking of vehicles of handicapped passengers near the lifts which will be connected with the help of a ram in every station under this corridor.

This Janakpuri West – Kalkaji Mandir will have four 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. This corridor will have 16 stations comprising Janakpuri West, Dabri Mor, Dashrathpuri, Palam, Sadar Bazar Cantonment, Terminal 1 – IGI Airport, Shankar Vihar, Vasant Vihar, Munirka, RK Puram, Hauz Khas, IIT, Panchsheel Park, Chirag Delhi, Greater Kailash, Nehru Enclave.

Moreover, the corridor has also been decorated with an artwork depicting butterflies since there is a nursery in the vicinity of the Chirag Delhi station where many butter flies hover over the plants. Interestingly, the artwork at GK Enclave depicts the many trends in fashion.

A special kind of print has been installed on the ceilings of some of the stations which are also contributing to their overall look and feel. For example, at Palam, the ceiling of one of the entry/exit points has been decorated with special prints which depict the blue skies. This new innovation has enhanced the beauty of the stations in a major way.

The DMRC spokesperson added that the 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.