Delhi Metro superfan who rides every line on day one
NEW DELHI: From being a passenger in the inaugural Delhi Metro in 2002 to his latest ride in new corridors this year, Anil Marwah has kept the tradition of taking the first ride on new routes alive for more than two decades now.
For most people, a new metro line means a faster commute, but for the 65-year-old, it means another page in a carefully preserved album, an album not of photos but metro smart cards.
As the two new metro routes connecting Majlis Park to Maujpur and Majlis Park to Deepali Chowk were inaugurated on Sunday, the metro enthusiast was once again present with his albums, continuing his 24-year-old tradition and becoming one of the first passengers on the new corridors.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) commenced train services at 3 pm on the two newly inaugurated corridors after they were flagged off earlier in the day by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Marwah, proudly displaying his collection, said that his album consisted of every first-day Delhi Metro smart card issued for the newly opened corridors.
His carefully preserved collection includes the cards, photographs from inaugural rides before entering the metro, newspaper clippings and even recognition from the Limca Book of World Records, all neatly stored in albums he carries to metro inaugurations.
“My story with Delhi Metro started on December 25, 2002. Earlier, I had lived in Japan for a year from 1988 to 1989, and I was very fascinated that the metro trains there ran through the colonies. I used to wonder when something like that would start in Delhi,” Marwah stated. He recalled that when the metro finally started, he was living in Rajender Nagar and went with his son to Shahdara so that they could take the first ride.
Metro enthusiast Anil Marwah added his 42nd Delhi Metro smart card after taking the first ride on the newly opened corridors between Majlis Park–Maujpur Babarpur and Deepali Chowk–Majlis Park. Marwah, who has followed the tradition since 2002, said he hopes to continue collecting first-day cards until the 25th anniversary of the Delhi Metro.
