Trial runs on Mundka–Bahadurgarh corridor of Metro to begin in Dec

NEW DELHI: Trial runs on Delhi Metro's Mundka–Bahadurgarh stretch are set to begin this December, setting the stage for the mass rapid transit's third foray into Haryana.

The 11 km-long line will start from west Delhi and stretch all the way into Haryana.

The corridor, an extension of the Inderlok–Mundka section of the Green Line (Line 5), is scheduled to be commissioned in June 2018. According to Metro officials, the stretch will be covered in 45 minutes.

Trains for the line will be of different technical specifications and Delhi Metro Rai Corporation (DMRC) already has a sufficient number of trains to start the new section.

"To start with, 10 trains will run on the Inderlok–Mundka section. with a peak hour frequency of six minutes. If the ridership is more than the estimated numbers, this will be increased,'' said an official.

The corridor, which will considerably reduce travel time between Haryana and Delhi, will cover seven stations, namely City Park, Bahadurgarh Bus Stand, Modern Industrial Estate, Tikri Border, Tikri Kalan, Ghevra, and Mundka Industrial Area.

Among these, Mundka Industrial Area, Ghevra, Tikri Kalan, and Tikri Border are in Delhi, while the rest are in Haryana.

According to officials, one of the key features of this line is that it will be a straight corridor.

"The elevated corridor passing through Rohtak Road will be more or less straight. It would have the least number of turns in the entire Metro network," the official said.

However, the construction may be delayed if Haryana Urban Development Authority fails to provide land to DMRC for laying tracks till a new depot which is coming up at Ballabgarh, another Metro official stated.

"Regardless of that, trial runs on the Haryana portion of the corridor will begin in December. Trials on the rest of the section from Mundka is expected in January," the official added.

The corridor is being constructed as part of Delhi Metro's Phase III.

"The alignment of the line will be standard gauge and it will have technical standards similar to the existing metro corridor upto Mundka. So we hope to commission by June provided the land issue is sorted out, which seems to be on track," the official said.

According to DMRC's estimates, around 1.43 lakh people are expected to travel on this line each day.