"We are making special arrangements at the Stadium Metro station from opening of the Games Oct 3 to closing ceremony Oct 14. The station will have five entry and exit structures so that public can access the station easily and extra staircases of much wider width are being provided so that more people can be accommodated easily,'' Delhi Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal said. "The staircase width, which is normally 2.4 metres in other stations, will be as much as 4.25 metres at the the Stadium Metro station to accommodate the extra rush. There will also be four escalators connecting the concourse with the platform,'' he added.

According to Dayal, the station at the stadium can deal with a crowd of 4,000 passengers per minute in peak time and has been designed to accommodate a total traffic flow of 80,000 persons per hour in the platform area of 1,800 sq. metres.

Google Transit, launched by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Google India on March 4, can help tourists and travellers figure out sta- tions en route their destination, the exact fare, the time taken and more.

With Google mapping the city's lifeline, Delhi joins metrop- olises such as New York, London, Paris, Zurich and San Francisco among more than 150 cities worldwide.

Close to one million people use the Delhi Metro every day.Metro trains make 1500 trips across 85 stations spread over the National Capital Region.

Source: Hindustan Times By Aasheesh Sharma Delhi Metro Online, Like New York Subway, Delhi Metro Routes Now On Google Map

The outlay for 2010-11 is less than Rs 3,552.2 crore granted last year. But this, officials say, is because the project is nearing completion. ``Phase II construction is about 82% complete and about 72% of the total estimate of Rs 19,131 crore has been already been paid. The allocated amount is adequate for DMRC at present, and if additional funding is required it can be procured through the revised estimates and supplementary grants later in the year,'' said Kumar Keshav, director (projects), DMRC. Unlike the previous Budget, there is no allocation under the head of subordinate debt this year as no new lines have been planned and the land acquisition for existing lines was accounted for in the past budgets.

Till March 31, DMRC has a sum of Rs 10,166.9 crore, which includes the JICA loan received through the Centre. To fund the phase, 49.16% of the amount is sourced through the JICA loan from Japan, 20.72% through equities from Centre, another 20.72% through equities from Delhi government, 6.67% via subordinate debt (towards cost of land), 2.01% from property development and 0.72% from miscellaneous grants (for Noida/Gurgaon lines).

This year's allocation doesn't include any money for Delhi Metro's Phase III as it is yet to be approved by Delhi government. DMRC is in the final stages of preparing Detailed Project Reports for the new Metro lines proposed as part of Phase III, which will be spread across 112 km.

आनंद विहार से वैशाली तक के मेट्रो रूट के लिए दो स्टेशन बनने हैं। छोटा स्टेशन कौशांबी में वेव सिनेमा के पास बनेगा। दूसरा बड़ा स्टेशन वैशाली सेक्टर-4 में बन रहा है। वैशाली के सेक्टर-4 में डीएमआरसी स्टेशन बनाने के लिए तेजी के साथ कार्य में जुटा है। यहां करीब एक दर्जन पिलर की फाउंडेशन तैयार कर ली गई है। यहां अब भारी मशीनों को लगाया गया है। मगर स्टेशनों का डिजाइन अब कुछ बदल दिया गया है। वैशाली और कौशांबी स्टेशनों पर फुट ओवरब्रिज बनाए जाएंगे। इसके चलते अब दोनों स्थानों पर कंस्ट्रक्शन हाइट छह मीटर बढ़ दी गई है।

पहले डीएमआरसी ने बिजली विभाग को केवल 11 मीटर हाइट तक की हाइटेंशन लाइन हटाने के लिए कहा था। मगर अब उसने विभाग को पत्र लिखकर साफ किया है कि उसे 17 मीटर तक साफ स्पेस चाहिए। जीडीए के अधिकारियों ने भी इसकी पुष्टि की है।

एमओयू ही आधार
एमओयू के हिसाब से डीएमआरसी को वैशाली प्रोजेक्ट मई 2010 तक पूरा करना है, लेकिन इसमें अब देरी की आशंका तेज होती जा रही है। जीडीए के सचिव नरेंद्र कुमार का कहना है कि प्रोजेक्ट की समयसीमा का आधार डीएमआरसी और जीडीए के बीच साइन हुआ एमओयू ही है। इधर डीएमआरसी ने काम में तेजी ला दी है। इससे यह महसूस किया जा सकता है कि इस प्रोजेक्ट में वह कोई ढील नहीं छोड़ रहा है। जीडीए ने डीएमआरसी को मांग के मुताबिक हर सुविधा उपलब्ध करा दी है।

दिल्ली मेट्रो रेल कार्पोरेशन ने गुरुवार को जारी अपने बयान में कहा कि राष्ट्रीय राजधानी में सक्रिय सभी 4 रूटों-दिलशाद गार्डन से रिठाला, जहांगीरपुरी से केंद्रीय सचिवालय, नोएडा सिटी सेंटर से द्वारका सेक्टर-9 और आनंद विहार से यमुना बैंक तक की सेवाएं सुबह 6 बजे के बजाय दोपहर 2 बजे से शुरू होंगी। रात में इन रूटों पर सेवाएं पूर्वनिर्धारित कार्यक्रम के अनुसार ही जारी रहेगी।

दिल्ली मेट्रो के प्रवक्ता अनुज दयाल ने कहा कि दोपहर 2 बजे के बाद मेट्रो सेवा में कोई दिक्कत नहीं आएगी। इस दिन हालांकि, यात्रियों को पूरे दिन मेट्रो फीडर बसों की सेवाएं नहीं मिल सकेंगी।

गौरतलब है कि दिल्ली मेट्रो कुछ ही समय में यातायात के प्रमुख साधन के रूप में उभरी है। इसमें रोजाना 9,50,000 लोग सफर करते हैं।

Trains on the new line will cover 15.1km in 31 minutes

West Delhi locales like Paschim Vihar, Peeragarhi and Madhipur are coming closer to the heart of the capital next month. The new Delhi Metro line from Inderlok to Mundka, via Punjabi Bagh, will be opened for use by the end of March. With this, commuters will be able to traverse the 15.1km-long congested stretch in just 31 minutes.

The Mundka line which is the first Metro line to come up on the internationally-followed standard gauge technology will be opened with 13 trains initially. Unlike the existing Metro lines that were facing a shortage of trains, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) already has trains ready for this since those for standard gauge rails have different technical specifications. ``Trains on the Mundka line will run at a frequency of 4.5-5 minutes during peak hours. This will be the first standard gauge Metro line in India as all other lines opened so far have been on broad gauge,'' said a DMRC spokesperson.

The new line will provide a connect between two existing Metro lines and also has an interchange with the Ring Railway network. The line branches out southwards from the Inderlok Metro station to hit Rohtak Road from Punjabi Bagh, via another Metro station at Ashok Park. For about 11kms henceforth, the fully-elevated line runs along the central verge of Rohtak Road to reach the last station at Mundka via Shivaji Park, Madhipur, Paschim Vihar, Peeragarhi, Udyog Nagar, Surajmal Stadium and Nangloi.

Interestingly, two exiting Delhi Metro lines are being joined together in the middle for the first time to cut travel time. The new Metro corridor will join the Inderlok Metro station on Line 1 to Kirti Nagar station on Line 3 and will cut travel time between the two stations by almost 45 minutes. At present, commuters need to travel 16 Metro stations before they can reach Kirti Nagar from Inderlok.

For the link, two new stations will be constructed near the existing stations at Inderlok and Kirti Nagar. The existing stations will cater to Line 1 and 3. The old and new stations will be linked at the platform and concourse levels.

The 15-kilometre section between Mundka in west Delhi and Inderlok is the first line that connects two already operational lines -- Dilshad Garden - Rithala Line (Line 1) at Inderlok Metro station and Noida - Dwarka line (line 3) at Kirti Nagar metro station.

While Mundka - Inderlok section will open next month, the 3.5-kilometre Ashok Park - Kirti Nagar section, a small extension that branches off at Ashok Park metro station, will take at least two more months to start functioning.

The Inderlok Mundka line, which will be known as Green line or Line 5, has several firsts associated with it. This will be the first line to have a connection with Northern Railway's ring railway in Delhi.

"The metro station of Satguru Ram Singh Marg will be directly connected to Ring railway's Patel Nagar station with a foot over bridge," a DMRC spokesperson said.

The Inderlok-Mundka line will be the first to connect Delhi's two peripheral roads with a metro line. Outer Ring Road and Ring Road, Delhi's two most congested roads, will now be connected with the Metro.

"A lot of people coming from neighbouring towns of Rohtak and Karnal get down at Outer Ring Road. They will certainly be benefited by this Metro connection," a DMRC official said.

atulmathur@hindustantimes.com

This is being seen largely as a result of the persistence of some top GDA and district administration officials in pushing the Metro's case, on the proposed Dilshad Garden-New Bus Terminal route, in front of the UP government. But the biggest hurdle that still lies in the way of the project is the issue of how it will be financed.

According to GDA vice-chairman Narinder Chowdhary, the project has long been regarded as very important to the development of Ghaziabad, and to the de-congestion of its roads. A detailed project report was, in fact, prepared in 2005, at a cost of Rs 48 lakh.

A fresh project report will now have to be prepared. The original report put the cost of the project at Rs 960 crore. If a fresh detailed report is prepared now, it is expected that the cost of the project could increase by about 15 per cent over that of 2005.

Chowdhary said that one of the immediate means of financing the project the GDA is looking at, is taking a loan for the total amount from the National Capital Region Planning Board. And, then, it would be decided how to repay the loan. Said Chowdhary, ``One of the ways we have been looking at is levying a cess on GDA land and on building activity.

Source: Times Of India By Lalit Kumar UP govt approval for Metro to Gzb

The Metro is set to miss its October deadline to enter Ghaziabad. The short, 2.574-km extension from Anand Vihar in Delhi to Vaishali in next-door Ghaziabad is now scheduled to be ready in March 2011.

Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) officials explained the delay in completion of the project in a meeting with Uttar Pradesh government officials here on Monday. GDA officials also sought a deadline extension at the meeting, held to review the project's progress.

UP's Principal Secretary (Housing and Urban Planning) Arun Kumar Sinha said, "The October 2010 deadline will be missed because there was some delay in shifting of power transmission lines and availability of land."

According to officials, power transmission lines that fell on the route alignment and some water supply lines have since been shifted.

The Anand Vihar to Vaishali stretch will have a station at Kaushambi.

October 2010 was the deadline according to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the GDA and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on March 24, 2008.

Source: The Indian Express By Lalmani Verma Metro's date with Ghaziabad delayed: now next March

The Airport Express project being jointly developed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Reliance Infra, it seems, is way behind schedule. The special metro train will zip you from the heart of Delhi to the airport in just 22 minutes, a journey that normally takes more than an hour.

But players and visitors coming for this year's Commonwealth Games in October may miss the ride on this metro as DMRC may miss its completion deadline of September 2010. The Metro is being constructed under a unique model.

The DMRC will first complete all the civil works including stations, tunnel and viaduct and then hand it over to Reliance Infra, who will run it for a period of 30 years.

Infra is also responsible for laying tracks and operational equipment and completing the station, which will be modeled on airport terminals.

Source: profit.ndtv.com DMRC's Airport Express project delayed?

Union Minister of Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy on Friday announced that his ministry would soon consider issuing a formal sanction for the project.

The minister was in Gurgaon to inaugurate the trial run of Metro's Gurgaon line with five metro stations.

The Metro line between Qutub Minar and Gurgaon will be commercially launched in the first week of May.

On extending the Metro line further into Haryana, Reddy said, "Delhi is getting congested. The national capital and its neighbouring cities would form one of the biggest urban agglomerations in the world 10 years from now."

"We want Delhi to be decongested and the neighbouring cities would have to share the burden."

Source: Hindustan Times By Sanjeev K Ahuja Metro Entering Gurgaon, Hope For Faridabad, Manesar

EXPANSION WITHIN GURGAON

With this, the number of trains on the Dwarka Sector-9 to Noida City Centre/Anand Vihar have increased to 43.

"This line is the most heavily crowded line and is also the longest line in operation at present carrying 48 per cent of the total ridership on the Metro system," a DMRC spokesperson said.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which had 41 trains at the time of inauguration of the Anand Vihar extension on 7th January, added one additional train on 18th January.

With the introduction of today's train, the DMRC will be able to run seventy eight additional train trips between Yamuna Bank and Dwarka everyday with thirty nine of these trips running further up to Noida City Centre and the remaining thirty nine trips going till Anand Vihar as only alternate trains go towards these two destinations after Yamuna Bank.

The introduction of this additional train will enable DMRC to reduce congestion on Line-3/4 as over ninety thousand persons will be accommodated everyday on these seventy eight trips, the spokesperson said.

It is expected that a further additional train will be added in another 10 days to further ease the traffic.

Announcing this at a felicitation function organised by local MLA and her Parliamentary Secretary Surendra Kumar at Bawana village here on Saturday, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the extension of the metro to the area would further add to its development.

The programme was also attended by Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath, who used the occasion to exhort people to make everyone aware about the ill-effects of gender imbalance.

The Chief Minister informed the gathering that already various development projects have been undertaken in the region including establishment of a 1,500-MW power plant. "The gas-based plant would be completed ahead of the Commonwealth Games due later this year," she said. Ms. Dikshit said while a number of development schemes of the Rural Development Board are also being undertaken in the area, the entire Bawana region would progress as a large industrial estate is also coming up there. It would also lead to a substantial increase in employment opportunities for villagers.

In fact, the response to the Metro service was so overwhelming that even the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation ( DMRC), which has been operating the intra- city train service with the fastest growing user base for more than eight years now, grossly underestimated the requirement.

Within months, this new rail link from Dwarka in west Delhi to Anand Vihar in the east and Noida has become a traveller's nightmare.

Passengers complain it's a push and shove journey all the way, right from the time one forces his or her way inside the train. During peak hours in the morning and evening, people pack the bogies like sardines in a can.

Once inside, passengers are huddled so closely that clearing an inch for others to disembark at stations is a struggle, let alone finding a seat.

Shilpi Kulsheshtra, a second- year Delhi University student who takes the Metro from the Botanical Garden station ( third of the 42 stations on the Noida- Dwarka rail link), doesn't remember the last time she managed a seat for herself.

Source: Mail Today By Ravi Bajpai Delhi Metro :Commuters Now Packed Like Sardines In Trains, Delhiites Just Might Go Back To DTC Buses & Bluelines

As the Metro enters its laststage preparations to enter Gurgaon, overjoyed residents have already started the countdown. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced the start of trial runs on a portion of the Central Secretariat to Gurgaon line within a month. While residents will get a viable public transport system, the depressed realty sector has also got a shot in the arm.

`` If you don't own a car here, you are stranded. Even to go grocery shopping or to the malls, I have to rely on my husband or daughter. Once the Metro starts, I will take off on my own,'' said Prarthana Gulati, a resident of Garden Estate. Even those commuting to Delhi are waiting to take the Metro across the border and rely on Delhi's public transport to take them further. `` I have to wait at IFFCO Chowk everyday for cab till Mahipalpur. I see the Metro line everyday and am going to take it till Aya Nagar and catch a DTC bus. It's very tough to get out of Gurgaon now as we are at the mercy of unreliable buses and call centre cabs,'' said Rajesh Kumar, who works with an MNC.

Their wishes may soon come true. `` The civil construction is complete, tracks have been laid, and signalling and overhead electrification work are in last stages. We have also started putting up signages at stations. We plan to start trial runs on the Gurgaon stretch these may start from Sultanpur depot as the trains will be taken from there,'' said a DMRC spokesperson. Haryana government had requested DMRC to open the 7.3km-long Gurgaon stretch before the rest of the line.

The news of the Metro opening has already sent property rates soaring , and apartments located within walking distance of the Metro are prime now. `` Rates of residential properties , rentals and otherwise, for buildings located near the Metro line have increased by about 15% in the last 2-3 months. Once the line starts, we are expecting a further appreciation of about 10-15 %. But rates of commercial properties are constant,'' said Anil Makhija of Surendra Properties.

Source: The Economics Times Gurgaon feels the change as Metro inches closer