Gap bridged, unbroken Pink Line to be up and running by July-end
New Delhi: In a major relief for commuters travelling on the Delhi Metro's longest corridor, the Pink Line, which was lying incomplete due to land acquisition issues, is now likely to be thrown open to the public by July-end with a majority of the construction work in its last leg, officials privy to the matter said.
The 1.5-km link from Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 to Trilokpuri, which was missing from the 58.6-km corridor connecting Majlis Park and Shiv Vihar, only has some civil work pending in its completion following which trial runs will be carried out.
Thereafter, a request for approval would be made to the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CMRS) who assesses the safety aspect of the journey, a senior DMRC official said.
Once the CMRS conducts the requisite audit, the link will most likely be operationalised by the end of July, another official said.
The completion of the corridor will come as a relief to commuters as the missing portion resulted in one section of the corridor operating from Majlis Park to Mayur Vihar 1 while another portion operating from Shiv Vihar to Trilokpuri. However, commuters from south, east and west Delhi will now be able to travel directly towards places in North-East Delhi while the Anand Vihar ISBT will also be directly available to commuters coming from the Majlis Park side.
The missing link remained for over two-and-a-half years after the project ran into trouble due to land acquisition and rehabilitation issues at Trilokpuri. In order to create 10 pillars to support the 289-metres-viaduct that now connects Mayur Vihar 1 and Trilokpuri, 108 families in Block-15 of the area were made to relocate following which there was an uproar from the residents who later moved the Delhi High Court opposing the move. Finally, DMRC won the case and the residents were provided separate flats near the site.
The missing link made Delhi Metro's most ambitious corridor, also known as the ring corridor, function like an arc connecting all the existing corridors of the 389-kms network.
In an earlier official statement, DMRC had also stated that work on connecting Majlis Park and Maujpur corridor as part of its Phase 4 network has also made steady progress despite manpower related constraints.
Adding that work on Delhi Metro's fifth bridge over the Yamuna river was also going on as part of this corridor near the Signature Bridge, Executive Director (corporate communications) Anuj Dayal said, "This corridor is significant as its completion will complete the entire ring of connectivity on the Pink Line".
