Saturday, November 28, 2009

By the year end Delhi Metro to traverse Vikas Marg

By year-end, the Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar line will become operational and will change the way residents of east Delhi colonies travel

East Delhi residents have a reason to cheer. With the Delhi Metro’s Noida line already operational, the corporation is gearing up to open the Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar stretch by the year end. The construction of the 6.17 km long line which is expected to ferry over 1 lakh commuters daily, is complete but more trains need to come in before it can be opened for public.

The line passes through heavily built-up Vikas Marg, which is lined with residential colonies and institutional areas. The main road itself carries over 1.5 lakh vehicles daily and about 3.7 kms of the Metro line passes through these areas. For all these commuters, the opening of the new line will bring respite to scores of commuters who have been braving traffic snarls on Vikas Marg. DMRC has already removed all the barricades and work on resurfacing the main road and making new footpaths and central verge has begun. The main road is now wider than it was as nearly 3 metres has been added to its width now.

Engineers working on Vikas Marg told TOI that constructing the stretch has been a major challenge. ‘‘All the construction has taken place only between 11 pm and 6 am as Vikas Marg is a very busy stretch. Further, the mishap at Laxmi Nagar in which a launcher collapsed, also caused further delay,’’ said a DMRC spokesperson.

To tackle the heavy pedestrian movement, all the elevated Metro stations will double-up as foot-overbridges. Parking facilities are available at Karkardooma station and also Anand Vihar.

The station at Karkardooma is located off the road and is going to double up as a mall too. In fact, the station is the first Delhi Metro station to have green spaces inside. The facade is made of spider glazing and structural glazing to give it a corporate look and there is going to be landscaping inside the station premises for aesthetics.

DMRC has constructed two of the longest spans of Phase II of 70 m each over the Karkardooma flyover. The height of the platform, on the third floor, is about 19m — the highest platform in Delhi Metro. The station has 5 floors — basement, ground, first floor, concourse and platform.

The last stop at Anand Vihar will have a railway station and an ISBT in the same complex for better integration between the modes. The daily station load forecast for the Anand Vihar Metro station is almost 2.5 lakh for 2011.

The line branches out from Yamuna Depot station and crosses five stations to reach the one at Anand Vihar border, before the metro continues its journey into Ghaziabad.

The line in figures

Delhi Metro | Yamuna Bank to Anand Vihar

Length | 6.17 km No of stations | 5 Stoppages | Laxmi Nagar, Nirman Vihar, Preet Vihar, Karkardooma, Anand Vihar

No of on-road stations | 3 Ridership | 1.03L daily by 2012

Problem area | 3.2 km (ITO Chungi to Karkari more)

Traffic volume | 1,25,000

Passenger Car Units (12hr) Maxi Height | 19 m (over Karkari more flyover)

Date of completion | Dec 2009 Cost | Rs 210 cr

Parking | At Karkardooma & Anand Vihar stations

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