ITO-Mandi House Metro service to get green signal today

The union urban development, Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and the Delhi Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal will be present. Inspection of the newly constructed Metro section was done by the CMRS on June 2.

Train services on the section is estimated to benefit 22,000 passengers daily to begin with and is expected to rise to 31,000 by 2021, enhancing DMRC’s annual revenue by Rs 8 crore.

The construction work on the single-line section was completed in January this year. But operations on this 971-metre section were not started as safety inspection could not be carried out as per provisions of the Metro Railway General Rules.

The Urban Development Ministry had amended and notified changes to the Metro Railway General Rules, 2013, to allow operations on single-line sections, which was a major stumbling block in operationalising the line.

Apart from people commuting to their offices (police headquarters, UGC, Bal Bhawan etc.), the ITO station will also benefit sports enthusiasts who often come to watch football and cricket matches at the Ambedkar and Feroz Shah Kotla stadiums located at a walking distance.

The ITO station has six escalators and lifts and six entry/exit points. Two subways will connect the station with the Deen Dayal <g data-gr-id="38">Updhyay</g> Marg as well as the Indraprastha Marg.

The Mandi House metro station had opened in late June last year with a permanent exhibition depicting the transition of the area from a colonial brick kiln zone to a modern cultural hub.

New Delhi-based Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) which worked on the previous project has again dug into archives and libraries to cull out historic photographs and old maps to reflect the transition of the area and its social history.