Delhi Metro's Pink Line to be longest corridor after Trilokpuri zone opens

Delhi Metro's Pink Line is all set to become its longest operational corridor from Friday onwards, which would also save time and money for commuters as after much-delay the Trilokpuri gap on the line has been plugged.

The Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor or the Pink Line spans 38 stations. 

However, a small portion in east Delhi's Trilokpuri area had proved a bottleneck for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) authorities for a long time, due to which the line had remained disjointed for some distance there.

The opening of the Trilokpuri section, about 289 metre, between the Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stations, on August 6 will fully link the entire 59 km-long Pink Line for the first time.

And, it will also connect important landmarks of the city, such as the Anand Vihar Railway station, Anand Vihar ISBT, Nizamuddin Railway station, markets in South Extension, INA and Lajpat Nagar, officials said.

The much-delayed completion of Pink Line will also immensely benefit residents of east Delhi or people travelling to that region, as the gap at Trilokpuri was causing the corridor to be operated in two separate segments.

The gap in the line was expected to be plugged by September 2020, but it had got delayed due to repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, sources had said early October.

Pink Line was opened in multiple phases in 2018. And, all stations on the line have been opened.

The bottleneck near Triloklouri station had arisen due to multiple issues, including land acquisition, resulting in a portion of metro segment, then about a few kilometres remaining incomplete, rendering the Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake station, a terminus.

After its operationalisation on August 6, this section will connect the two ends of the Pink Line and provide seamless connectivity to a long range of localities in the National Capital Region. 

DMRC authorities on Wednesday said with this seamless connectivity, commuters will also save time and money.

There will be reduction in travel time of about 20 minutes, from HUDA City Centre (Gurgaon) to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake or vice versa, as after opening of this section, there will be only one interchange station i.e. Delhi Haat-INA instead of two interchange stations as of now, officials said.

Travelling from Raja Nahar Singh-Ballabhgarh (Faridabad) to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake or vice versa, will take 25 minutes less as after opening of this section, there will be only one interchange station i.e. Lajpat Nagar instead of two interchange stations presently.

And, commuters travelling from NOIDA City Center or Botanical Garden to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake or vice versa, will save 20 minutes as after opening of this section, there will be only one interchange station i.e. Mayur Vihar Poket-1 instead of two interchange stations as on date.

Also, their will be travel time reduction of about 20 mins both ways, on Delhi Haat-INA to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake or Lajpat Nagar to Trilokpuri-Sanjay Lake routes.

The full connectivity of Pink Line will also save money for riders, as there will be reduction in fare by ₹30 for Trilokpuri to Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 section and vice versa, officials said.

"Reduction in fare by ₹20 will be in 38 sections (to and fro) and important key locations like Lajpat Nagar, Noida City Centre, Botanical Garden, Mohan Estate to Trilokpuri or vice versa; reduction in fare by ₹10 will be in in 524 sections (to and fro)," the DMRC said.

Presently, 43 trains, including standby trains, operate on these two separate sections of Pink Line -- Majlis Park to Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 section has 30 trains including standby ones; Trilokpuri to Maujpur/Shiv Vihar has 13 trains, including standby ones, the officials said.

After the integration of missing link, same set of trains will be utilised. However, detailed operational plan is yet being chalked out, a senior official said.

The Pink Line is now going to be connected end-to-end, establishing it as the longest operational line of the network, he said.

This corridor will further be extended from Majlis Park to Maujpur in Phase-IV, making it the longest single metro corridor in India at approximately 70 km. After completion of the Phase-IV, the Pink Line will also become the only Ring Corridor of Metro in the country.