The Delhi Metro is a
mass rapid transit (MRT) system serving
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
and its satellite cities of
Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Muni ...
,
Faridabad
Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ri ...
,
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
,
Noida
Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...
,
Bahadurgarh
Bahadurgarh is a city, nearby Jhajjar, is located in Jhajjar district in the Indian state of Haryana. The city comprises 31 wards and is approximately 21 km from National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and 31 km from Jhajjar, the district headq ...
and
Ballabhgarh
Ballabgarh, is a large town, nearby Faridabad city and a tehsil (subdistrict) in Faridabad district of Haryana, India, and is part of the National Capital Region.[National Capital Region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...]
of India. The network consists of
10 colour-coded lines serving
255 stations with a total length of . It is by far the largest and busiest
metro rail system in India, and the second oldest after the
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four o ...
. The system has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using both
broad-gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
and
standard-gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
. Delhi Metro operates over 2,700 trips daily, starting at around 05:00 and ending at 23:30.
Construction started in 1998, and the first elevated section (
Shahdara to
Tis Hazari
Tis Hazari is a neighbourhood in Old Delhi, India just south of the Northern Ridge. It is the location of the Tis Hazari Courts Complex which was inaugurated on 19 March 1958 by Chief Justice Mr. A. N. Bhandari of the then Punjab High Court. ...
) on the
Red Line opened on 25 December 2002. The first underground section (
Vishwa Vidyalaya –
Kashmere Gate) on the
Yellow Line opened on 20 December 2004. The development of the network was divided into phases. Phase I with 3 lines was completed by 2006, and Phase II in 2011. Phase III is in the finishing stage and is scheduled to be complete by end of 2022. Construction under Phase IV was formally started on 30 December 2019.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) is a centre-state joint venture that operates the Delhi Metro. The DMRC is also involved in the planning and implementation of metro rail, monorail, and high-speed rail projects in India and abroad. T ...
Limited (DMRC), a company with equal equity participation from the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
and the
Government of Delhi
The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...
, built and operates the Delhi Metro.
DMRC was certified by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
in 2011 as the first metro rail and rail-based system in the world to get carbon credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing carbon emission levels in the city by 630,000 tonnes every year.
The Delhi Metro also has interchanges with the
Rapid Metro Gurgaon
Rapid Metro Gurgaon is a light metro system serving the city of Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Rapid Metro connects the commercial areas of Gurgaon, and acts as a feeder link to the Delhi Metro with an interchange with its Yellow Line at Sikanderp ...
(with a shared ticketing system) and
Noida Metro
The Noida Metro is a rapid transit system connecting the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. The metro network consists of one line (called Aqua Line), with a total length of serving 21 statio ...
. On 22 October 2019, DMRC took over the operations of the financially troubled Rapid Metro Gurgaon. Annual ridership of Delhi metro was 1.79 billion in 2019
History
Background
The concept of mass rapid transit for New Delhi first emerged from a traffic and travel characteristics study that was carried out in the city in 1969.
Over the next several years, many official committees by a variety of government departments were commissioned to examine issues related to technology, route alignment, and governmental jurisdiction.
In 1984, the Urban Arts Commission came up with a proposal for developing a multi-modal transport system, which would consist of constructing three underground mass rapid transit corridors as well as augmenting the city's existing
suburban railway
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are cons ...
and road transport networks.
While extensive technical studies and the raising of finance for the project were in progress, the city expanded significantly resulting in a two-fold rise in population and a five-fold rise in the number of vehicles between 1981 and 1998.
Consequently, traffic congestion and pollution soared, as an increasing number of commuters took to private vehicles with the existing bus system unable to bear the load.
An attempt at privatizing the bus transport system in 1992 merely compounded the problem with inexperienced operators plying poorly maintained, noisy and polluting buses on lengthy routes, resulting in long waiting times, unreliable service, extreme overcrowding, unqualified drivers, speeding and reckless driving which even led to road accidents. To rectify the situation, the Government of India under Prime Minister
H.D. Deve Gowda and the Government of Delhi jointly set up a company called the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on 3 May 1995, with
Elattuvalapil Sreedharan as the managing director.
Sreedharan handed over the charge as managing director of DMRC to
Mangu Singh
Dr. Mangu Singh (born 15 December 1955) was the Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, He took over after Dr.E. Sreedharan, the former managing director, retired from service on 31 December 2011, he retired on 31st March 2022, succe ...
on 31 December 2011.
Initial construction
Physical construction work on the Delhi Metro started on 1 October 1998.
After the previous problems experienced by the
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four o ...
, which was badly delayed and 12 times over budget due to "political meddling, technical problems and bureaucratic delays", DMRC is a special-purpose organisation vested with great autonomy and powers to execute this gigantic project involving many technical complexities, under a difficult urban environment and within a very limited time frame. DMRC was given full powers to hire people, decide on tenders, and control funds.
The DMRC then hired the
Hong Kong MTRC as a technical consultant on rapid transit operation and construction techniques. As a result, construction proceeded smoothly, except for one major disagreement in 2000, where the
Ministry of Railways
A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...
forced the system to use
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
despite the DMRC's preference for
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
.
The first line of the Delhi Metro, the
Red Line, was inaugurated by
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
, the then
Prime Minister of India
The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
on 24 December 2002.
The Delhi Metro became the second underground
rapid transit system in India, after the
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four o ...
, when the
Vishwa Vidyalaya–
Kashmere Gate section of the
Yellow Line opened on 20 December 2004. This underground line was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
. The first phase of the project was eventually completed in 2006, on budget and almost three years ahead of schedule, an achievement described by
Business Week
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
as "nothing short of a miracle".
Phase I
A total of long network with 59 stations and the following 3 routes (initial parts of Red, Yellow and Blue lines) were built within the limits of Delhi state, stations progressively started to open from 25 December 2002 to 11 November 2006.
Phase II
A total of long network with 86 stations and the following 10 new routes and extensions was built, out of which seven routes are extension spurs of the Phase I network, three were new colour-coded lines and three routes connect to other cities (Yellow Line to Gurgaon, Blue Line to Noida and Blue Line to Ghaziabad) of the national capital region, outside the physical limits of Delhi state, in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. At the end of Phases I and II, the cumulative total length of the network became with 145 stations progressively becoming operational from 4 June 2008 to 27 August 2011.
Phase III
Phase-I (Red, Yellow and Blue lines) and phase II (Green, Violet, and Orange lines) focused on adding new radial lines to expand the network. To further reduce congestion and improve connectivity, Phase III included 8 extensions to the existing lines as well as building two ring lines (Pink and Magenta lines) along with the Grey line. It has 28 underground stations, 3 new lines, and 7 route extensions, totaling , with a cost of .
The 3 new lines of Phase-III are the Pink Line running on Inner Ring Road (Line 7), the Magenta Line running on Outer Ring Road (Line 8) & the Grey Line connecting Dwarka and Najafgarh (Line 9).
Work on Phase III started in 2011,
with 2016 being the planned deadline.
More than 20 tunnel boring machines were used simultaneously to expedite the work; however, the actual work for the original was completed in March 2019 (except for a small stretch due to non-availability of land).
[Will not let funding row derail Phase-IV: Government](_blank)
, The Economic Times
''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...
, 4 July 2017. Later, certain small extensions to the Delhi Metro were added as part of the Phase–III project, only one of which is still under construction (Dwarka Sector 21 to ECC Centre). Phase III was expected to be completed by the end of 2020 but construction was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was finally completed on 18 September 2021 with the opening of the Grey Line extension from Najafgarh to Dhansa Bus Stand.
Driverless operations on the 38-km long Magenta line began on 28 December 2021, making it the first driverless metro line of Delhi Metro and India's first driverless metro. On 25 November 2021, the 59-km long Pink Line also began driverless train operations. With this, the total stretch of DMRC's network under driverless operations now stands at close to 97 km, putting Delhi Metro in fourth position globally among such networks, marginally behind
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
.
The expected daily ridership of the whole network of all phases, after the completion of Phase-III, was estimated at 53.47 lakh passengers. Against this, however, the actual ridership of DMRC was 27.79 lakh only (2019–20), i.e. 51.97 percent of the projected ridership. The actual ridership of the Phase III corridors was 4.38 lakh only as against the projected ridership of 20.89 lakh in 2019–20, which is a deficit of 79.02 percent.
The communication-based train control (CBTC) being used in Phase-III trains enables trains to run at a short headway of 90 seconds, although the actual headway between trains is kept much higher because of the relatively low demand on the new corridors. Keeping the short headway and other constraints in mind, DMRC changed its decision to build 9-car-long stations for new lines and instead opted for shorter stations which can accommodate 6-car trains.
Construction accidents
On 19 October 2008, a
launching gantry
A launching gantry (also called beam launcher, girder launcher, bridge building crane, and bridge-building machine, locally nicknamed the "Iron Monster") is a special-purpose mobile gantry crane used in bridge construction, specifically segmental ...
and a part of the overhead Blue Line extension under construction in Laxmi Nagar,
East Delhi
East Delhi is an administrative district of Delhi in India. It is bounded by the Yamuna River on the west, North East Delhi to the north, Ghaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh state to the east, and Gautam Buddha Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh ...
, collapsed and fell on passing vehicles underneath. Workers were using a crane to lift a 400-tonne concrete span of the bridge when the gantry collapsed along with a span of the bridge on top of a Blueline bus, killing the driver and a labourer.
On 12 July 2009, a section of a bridge collapsed while it was being erected at Zamrudpur, near East of Kailash, on the Central Secretariat – Badarpur corridor. Six people died and 15 were injured.
The following day, on 13 July 2009, a crane that was removing the debris collapsed, and with a bowling pin effect collapsed two other nearby cranes, injuring six. On 22 July 2009, a worker at Ashok Park Metro station was killed when a steel beam fell on him. Over a hundred people, including 93 workers, have died since work on the metro began in 1998.
On 23 April 2018, five people were injured when an iron girder fell off the elevated section of a Metro rail structure being constructed at the Mohan Nagar intersection in Ghaziabad. A car, an auto rickshaw, and a motorbike were also damaged in the accident.
Network
The Delhi Metro is being built in phases. Phase I consisted of 59 stations and of route length,
of which is underground and surface or elevated. The inauguration of the
Dwarka
Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...
–
Barakhamba Road
Barakhamba, also known as Barakhamba Monument, is a 14th-century tomb building from the Tughlaq period that is located in New Delhi, India. Barakhamba means '12 Pillars' in Urdu and Hindi languages. The name has also been used for an upscale mo ...
corridor of the Blue Line marked the completion of Phase I in October 2006.
Phase II of the network consists of of route length and 86 stations,
and is fully completed, with the first section opened in June 2008 and the last line opened in August 2011.
Phase-III consists of 109 stations, 3 new lines and 7 route extensions, totaling ,
with a cost of
and was mostly completed on 5 April 2019, except for a small section of the Pink Line between the Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stations as well as the Grey Line extension from Najafgarh to Dhansa Bus Stand, which opened on 6 August 2021 and 18 September 2021, respectively. Phase IV project's routes with 6 lines totaling 103.93 km were finalized in July 2015. Out of this, 61.679 km across 3 lines (priority corridors) with 45 stations was approved by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
for construction on March 7, 2019. The Silver Line's length was increased in October 2020, making the entire project 65.1 km long. It is planned to be completed by 2025.
Lines
Red Line (Line 1)
![New Delhi Metro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/New_Delhi_Metro.jpg)
The Red Line was the first line of the Metro to be opened and connects
Rithala in the west to
Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda) in the east, covering a distance of . It is partly elevated and partly at grade and crosses the
Yamuna River
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...
between
Kashmere Gate and
Shastri Park
Shastri Park is a neighborhood located in North East Delhi in India. The name of the area is dedicated to Indian freedom fighter Lal Bahadur Shastri. It is the location of one of the first metro station in Delhi. Delhi Metro
The Delhi Me ...
stations.
The inauguration of the first stretch between
Shahdara and
Tis Hazari
Tis Hazari is a neighbourhood in Old Delhi, India just south of the Northern Ridge. It is the location of the Tis Hazari Courts Complex which was inaugurated on 19 March 1958 by Chief Justice Mr. A. N. Bhandari of the then Punjab High Court. ...
on 24 December 2002 caused the ticketing system to collapse due to the line being crowded to four times its capacity by citizens eager to have a ride. Subsequent sections were inaugurated from Tis Hazari – Trinagar (later renamed
Inderlok) on 4 October 2003, Inderlok – Rithala on 31 March 2004, and Shahdara – Dilshad Garden on 4 June 2008.
The red line has interchange stations, at
Kashmere Gate with the
Yellow Line and
Violet Line, at
Inderlok with the
Green Line & at
Netaji Subhash Place &
Welcome
A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person.
In some context ...
with the
Pink Line. In the future the red line will have an interchange with the
Blue Line at
Mohan Nagar. Beginning 24 November 2013, a total of six-coach trains were eventually commissioned on the Red Line.
On 8 March 2019, an extension of the line from
Dilshad Garden
Dilshad Garden is a large housing colony located in East Delhi, which was primarily developed by Delhi Development Authority. The area located close to Delhi-Uttar Pradesh Border. Dilshad Garden falls under the both Shahdara and Seemapuri c ...
to
Shaheed Sthal(New Bus Adda) was opened to the public.
Yellow Line (Line 2)
![Delhi metro train](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Delhi_metro_train.jpg)
The Yellow Line was the second line of the Metro and was the first underground line to be opened on the Delhi Metro. It runs for from north to south and connects
Samaypur Badli with
HUDA City Centre in
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
. The northern and southern parts of the line are elevated, while the central section which passes through some of the most congested parts of Delhi is underground. The first underground section of Delhi Metro between
Vishwa Vidyalaya and
Kashmere Gate opened on 20 December 2004, and the subsequent sections of Kashmere Gate –
Central Secretariat opened on 3 July 2005, and Vishwa Vidyalaya –
Jahangirpuri on 4 February 2009.
This line also possesses the country's second deepest Metro station
at
Chawri Bazar
Chawri Bazar is a specialized wholesale market of brass, copper and paper products. Established in 1840, with a hardware market, it was the first wholesale market of Old Delhi it lies to the west of Jama Masjid, Delhi, Jama Masjid in Delhi.
...
, situated below ground level.
On 21 June 2010, an additional stretch from
Qutab Minar
Qutab (, Tat: ''gitob'') is an Azerbaijani dish made from thinly rolled dough that is cooked briefly on a convex griddle known as a saj.
Composition
When the weather gets warmer, the number of dishes made from wild plants increases. Qutab belon ...
to
HUDA City Centre was opened, initially operating separately from the mainline. However,
Chhatarpur station on this line opened on 26 August 2010. Due to delays in acquiring the land for constructing the station, it was constructed using prefabricated structures in a record time of nine months and is the only station in the Delhi Metro network to be made completely of steel. The connecting link between Central Secretariat and Qutub Minar opened on 3 September 2010.
On 10 November 2015, the line was further extended between Jahangirpuri and
Samaypur Badli in Outer Delhi.
Interchanges are available with the
Red Line and
Kashmere Gate ISBT
The Maharana Pratap Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) popularly known as Kashmere Gate ISBT, located in Delhi is the oldest and one of the biggest Inter State Bus Terminals in India. It operates bus services between Delhi and 7 other regions: Ha ...
at
Kashmere Gate,
Blue Line at
Rajiv Chowk,
Violet Line at
Kashmere Gate &
Central Secretariat,
Airport Express (Orange Line) at
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
,
Pink Line at
Azadpur
Azadpur is one of the districts located in North Delhi India at Alipur Road near Delhi University pincode is 110033. It is adjoining to the Model Town, Kingsway Camp, GTB Nagar, and Shalimar Bagh. It falls under the parliamentary constituency ...
&
Dilli Haat - INA,
Magenta Line at
Hauz Khas
Hauz Khas is a neighborhood in South Delhi, its heart being the historic Hauz Khas Complex. Well known in medieval times, the Hauz Khas village has amazing buildings built around the reservoir. There are remnants of Islamic architecture rough ...
,
Rapid Metro Gurgaon
Rapid Metro Gurgaon is a light metro system serving the city of Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Rapid Metro connects the commercial areas of Gurgaon, and acts as a feeder link to the Delhi Metro with an interchange with its Yellow Line at Sikanderp ...
at
Sikanderpur and with the
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
network at
Chandni Chowk
The Chandni Chowk, also known as Moonlight Square is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. It is located close to the Old Delhi Railway Station. The Red Fort monument is located at the eastern end of Chandni Chowk. It was bu ...
and
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
.
The Yellow Line is the first line of Delhi Metro which has phased out all four coach trains with six and eight-coach configurations. The Metro Museum at
Patel Chowk metro station
The Patel Chowk Metro Station is located on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro.
It is the southernmost station on the Yellow Line in Delhi to have parking facilities. Cycles are also available for rent. It houses the Metro Museum, which opene ...
, the only museum about
metro railway
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, is a collection of display panels, historical photographs and exhibits, tracing the genesis of the Delhi Metro. The museum was opened on 1 January 2009.
Blue Line (Line 3 & Line 4)
![DelhiMetroBlueLineBombardier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/DelhiMetroBlueLineBombardier.jpg)
The Blue Line was the third line of the Metro to be opened and the first to connect areas outside Delhi.
Mainly elevated and partly underground,
it connects
Dwarka Sub City
Dwarka is a neighbourhood located in South West Delhi district of Delhi. The district court that functions under the Delhi High Court for South West Delhi is located in Dwarka.
The sub-city is located near to Indira Gandhi International Airp ...
in the west with the satellite city of
Noida
Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...
in the east, covering a distance of .
The first section of this line between
Dwarka
Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...
and
Barakhamba Road
Barakhamba, also known as Barakhamba Monument, is a 14th-century tomb building from the Tughlaq period that is located in New Delhi, India. Barakhamba means '12 Pillars' in Urdu and Hindi languages. The name has also been used for an upscale mo ...
was inaugurated on 31 December 2005, and subsequent sections opened between Dwarka –
Dwarka Sector 9 on 1 April 2006, Barakhamba Road –
Indraprastha
Indraprastha (lit. "Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra") is mentioned in ancient Indian literature as a city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas mentioned in ''Mahabharata'' . Under the Pali form of its name ...
on 11 November 2006, Indraprastha –
Yamuna Bank on 10 May 2009, Yamuna Bank –
Noida City Centre on 12 November 2009, and Dwarka Sector 9 –
Dwarka Sector 21 on 30 October 2010.
This line crosses the Yamuna River between
Indraprastha
Indraprastha (lit. "Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra") is mentioned in ancient Indian literature as a city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas mentioned in ''Mahabharata'' . Under the Pali form of its name ...
and Yamuna Bank stations,
and has India's second
extradosed bridge
An extradosed bridge employs a structure that combines the main elements of both a prestressed box girder bridge and a cable-stayed bridge. The name comes from the word ''extrados'', the exterior or upper curve of an arch, and refers to how the "s ...
across the
Northern Railways
The Northern Railway (NR) is one of the 19 Railway zones of India and the northernmost zone of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Baroda House in New Delhi.
History
Officially notified as a new railway zone on 14 April 1952, ...
mainlines near
Pragati Maidan
Pragati Maidan is a venue for large exhibitions and conventions in the city of New Delhi, India. It has an area of nearly 150 acres (more than 625,000m2) of exhibition space, being among the biggest exhibition centers in India.
It is owned, o ...
.
A branch of the Blue line, inaugurated on 8 January 2010, takes off from Yamuna Bank station and runs for up to
Anand Vihar
Anand Vihar Terminal (station code: ANVT) is a railway station in the Anand Vihar locality of Delhi, India. It is under the administrative control of the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
This station was offi ...
in east Delhi.
It was further extended up to
Vaishali which was opened to the public on 14 July 2011.
A small stretch of from
Dwarka Sector 9 to
Dwarka Sector 21 was inaugurated on 30 October 2010.
On 9 March 2019, a 6.67 km extension of the line from
Noida City Centre to
Noida Electronic City was opened for public by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
. Interchanges are available with the
Noida Sector 51 station of
Aqua Line (Noida Metro)
The Aqua Line is a line of Noida Metro, a rapid transit system in Noida and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, India. It consists of 21 metro stations from Sector 51 in Noida to Depot in Greater Noida.
The line has been operational since 25 Janu ...
at
Noida Sector 52 station,
Yellow Line at
Rajiv Chowk station,
Green Line at
Kirti Nagar
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Kirti Nagar
, official_name =
, native_name =
, native_name_lang =
, other_name =
, nickname ...
,
Violet Line at
Mandi House
Mandi House is a locality in Delhi, India. It was the former residence of the Raja of Mandi in Delhi.
History
In the 1940s, the 18th Raja of Mandi State, Raja Sir Joginder Sen Bahadur built his residence next to what is now ''Himachal Bhawa ...
,
Airport Express (Orange Line) at
Dwarka Sector 21,
Pink Line at
Rajouri Garden
Rajouri Garden is a market and residential neighbourhood in West Delhi, India. The Main Market and Nehru Market are the key markets of the area. The population is largely Punjabi who migrated to Delhi, following the Partition of India, from Paki ...
,
Mayur Vihar Phase-I,
Karkarduma &
Anand Vihar
Anand Vihar Terminal (station code: ANVT) is a railway station in the Anand Vihar locality of Delhi, India. It is under the administrative control of the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
This station was offi ...
,
Magenta Line at
Janakpuri West &
Botanical Garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
and with the
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
network and Interstate Bus Station (ISBT) at Anand Vihar station, which connects with
Anand Vihar Railway Terminal
Anand Vihar Terminal (station code: ANVT) is a railway station in the Anand Vihar locality of Delhi, India. It is under the administrative control of the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
This station was offic ...
and
Anand Vihar ISBT
Swami Vivekanand Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) popularly known as Anand Vihar ISBT, located in East Delhi is one of the three Inter State Bus Terminals in Delhi. Anand Vihar ISBT was built in 1993, but it became fully functional with effect ...
. In the future it will have an interchange with the
Red Line at
Mohan Nagar.
Green Line (Line 5)
![Green Line Delhi metro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Green_Line_Delhi_metro.jpg)
Opened in 2010, Green Line (Line 5) is the fifth line of the Delhi Metro network and the first line on standard gauge, as opposed to previous broad gauge lines. It runs between
Inderlok (a station on the Red Line) and
Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh with a branch line connecting the line's Ashok Park Main station with Kirti Nagar station on the Blue Line. The completely elevated line, built as part of Phase II of the Delhi Metro runs mostly along the busy NH 10 route in West Delhi. The line consists of 24 stations including an interchange station covering a total length of . This line also has the country's first standard-gauge maintenance depot at Mundka.
The line was opened in two stages, with the Inderlok – Mundka section opening on 3 April 2010 and the Kirti Nagar – Ashok Park Main branch line on 27 August 2011. On 6 August 2012, in a step that will improve commuting in National Capital Region, the Union Government approved an extension of the Delhi Metro from Mundka to Bahadurgarh in Haryana. The metro stretch has seven stations at
Mundka Industrial Area,
Ghevra
Ghevra is a census town in North West district in the state of Delhi, India.
Demographics
India census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. T ...
,
Tikri Kalan
Tikri Kalan is a Census Town city in West Delhi district in the Indian state of Delhi. It is located on the Delhi-Rohtak Road (National Highway 10). This place is dominated by the "Drall" Gotra of the Jat Community. This village gets its name ...
,
Tikri Border,
Pandit Shree Ram Sharma,
Bahadurgarh City and
Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh between Mundka and Bahadurgarh. This stretch was opened on 24 June 2018.
Interchanges are available with
Red Line at
Inderlok,
Blue Line at
Kirti Nagar
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Kirti Nagar
, official_name =
, native_name =
, native_name_lang =
, other_name =
, nickname ...
and
Pink Line at
Punjabi Bagh West.
Violet Line (Line 6)
![DelhiMetroVioletLine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/DelhiMetroVioletLine.JPG)
The Violet Line is the sixth line of the Metro to be opened, and the second standard-gauge corridor after the Green Line. The line connects
Raja Nahar Singh
Raja Nahar Singh (died 1858) was a Jat Ruler of the princely state of Ballabhgarh in Faridabad District of Haryana, India . He fought The East India Company in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The small kingdom of Ballabhgarh is only 20 miles fro ...
in
Ballabgarh
Ballabgarh, is a large town, nearby Faridabad city and a tehsil (subdistrict) in Faridabad district of Haryana, India, and is part of the National Capital Region.[Faridabad
Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ri ...]
to
Kashmere Gate in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, with being overhead and the rest underground. The first section between Central Secretariat and
Sarita Vihar
Sarita Vihar is a posh residential colony situated in South East Delhi, India. It is near the Kalindi Kunj- Noida Toll bridge or GD Birla Marg-Road 13A which connects the district to Noida. It is believed that the site was primarily chosen as th ...
was inaugurated on 3 October 2010, just hours before the inaugural ceremony of the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
, and connects the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the event.
Completed in just 41 months, it includes a bridge over the Indian Railways mainlines and a cable-stayed bridge across an operational road flyover and connects several hospitals, tourist attractions, and a major industrial estate along its route. Services are provided at intervals of 5 min.
An interchange with the Yellow Line is available at Central Secretariat through an integrated concourse. On 14 January 2011, the remaining portion from Sarita Vihar to Badarpur was opened for commercial service, adding three new stations to the network and marking the completion of the line.
The section between Mandi House and Central Secretariat was opened on 26 June 2014. After that, a 971-metre section between ITO and Mandi House was opened on 8 June 2015. A extension southwards till Escorts Mujesar in
Faridabad
Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ri ...
was inaugurated by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
on 6 September 2015. All the nine Metro stations of the Badarpur – Escorts Mujesar (
Faridabad
Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ri ...
) section of Delhi Metro's Phase 3, have been awarded the highest possible rating (platinum) for adherence to green building norms, by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), which has devised a rating mechanism for Metro stations and buildings on a scale of platinum, gold, silver etc. for following the green building specifications. The awards for these stations were given to DMRC's Managing Director
Mangu Singh
Dr. Mangu Singh (born 15 December 1955) was the Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, He took over after Dr.E. Sreedharan, the former managing director, retired from service on 31 December 2011, he retired on 31st March 2022, succe ...
by P C Jain, Chairperson of IGBC in the presence of DMRC's directors and senior officials on 10 September 2015.
Currently, the
Faridabad
Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ri ...
corridor of Delhi Metro Violet Line is the longest metro corridor outside of
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, consisting of 11 stations and the total length of corridor being . On 28 May 2017, the
ITO
Ito may refer to:
Places
* Ito Island, an island of Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea
* Ito Airport, an airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Ito District, Wakayama, a district located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
* Itō, Shizuo ...
–
Kashmere Gate corridor of the Delhi Metro was formally flagged off for passenger services by the Union Minister of Urban Development,
Venkaiah Naidu
Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu (born 1 July 1949) is an Indian politician who served as the 13th vice president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first Indian vice president born in independent India. He has also served as the minister of Housi ...
and the
Chief Minister of Delhi
The chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is the head of government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. According to the Constitution of India, the lieutenant governor is the National Capital Territory of Delhi's ''de ...
,
Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national conv ...
. This section which runs underground is popularly known as the ''Heritage Line''.
Interchanges are available with
Red Line at
Kashmere Gate,
Yellow Line at
Kashmere Gate &
Central Secretariat,
Blue Line at
Mandi House
Mandi House is a locality in Delhi, India. It was the former residence of the Raja of Mandi in Delhi.
History
In the 1940s, the 18th Raja of Mandi State, Raja Sir Joginder Sen Bahadur built his residence next to what is now ''Himachal Bhawa ...
,
Pink Line at
Lajpat Nagar
Lajpat Nagar is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the South East Delhi district of Delhi. It was named in honor of Lala Lajpat Rai and is today most known for the Lajpat Nagar Central Market. This area is not to be confused with the ...
&
Magenta Line at
Kalkaji Mandir.
Orange Line (Airport Express Line)
![DelhiMetro AirportExpress 20111214](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/DelhiMetro_AirportExpress_20111214.jpg)
The Airport Express line runs for from
New Delhi Railway Station to
Dwarka Sector 21, linking the
Indira Gandhi International Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New De ...
. The line was operated by ''Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Limited (DAMEL)'', a subsidiary of
Reliance Infrastructure
Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R-Infra), formerly Reliance Energy Limited (REL) and Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES), is an Indian private sector enterprise involved in power generation, infrastructure, construction and defence. It is p ...
, the
concessionaire
A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land or property by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity.
Public services such as water supply may be operated as a concession. In the case of a p ...
of the line till 30 June 2013 and is now being operated by DMRC. The line was constructed at a cost of
, of which Reliance Infrastructure invested and will pay fees on a revenue-share model.
The line has six stations (Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity became operational on 15 August 2011), with some featuring
check-in facilities, parking, and eateries.
Rolling stock consists of six-coach trains operating at intervals of ten minutes and having a maximum speed of .
Originally scheduled to open before the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
, the line failed to obtain the mandatory safety clearance and was opened on 24 February 2011, after a delay of around 5 months. After 16 months of commencement of operations, the line was shut down for repairs of the viaducts on 8 July 2012. The line reopened on 22 January 2013.
On 27 June 2013 Reliance Infrastructure Ltd intimated DMRC that they are unable to operate the line beyond 30 June 2013. Following this DMRC took over operations of Airport Express line from 1 July 2013 with an Operations and Maintenance team of 100 officials to handle the line. In Jan 2015, DMRC reported that Airport Metro has recorded about 30 percent rise in its ridership following the fare reduction of up to 40 percent in July last year On 14 September 2015 DMRC announced to reduce fares even further to improve the ridership of the line, the new fare structure will have maximum fare of ₹60 and minimum of ₹10 instead of ₹100 and ₹20 charged earlier, a reduction of about 40%. DMRC has stated that this was done to reduce the crowding on Blue line, diverting some of the Dwarka-bound passengers to Airport Express Line, which is underutilised and faster compared to the Blue Line.
Interchanges are available with
Yellow Line at
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
,
Blue Line at
Dwarka Sector 21,
Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus metro station of
Pink Line at
Dhaula Kuan
Dhaula Kuan ( hi, धौला कुआँ) is a major intersection of roads in Delhi, India. The name also now refers to the neighbourhood surrounding the intersection.
Intersection
Five major thoroughfares in Delhi meet at Dhaula Kuan. ...
& with the
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
network at
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
.
A proposed expansion into the ECC Centre in Dwarka Sector 25 is expected to be completed between 2020 and 2021.
Pink Line (Line 7)
The Pink Line is the second new line of the third phase of the Delhi Metro. It was partially opened on 14 March 2018, with a further extension opening on 6 August 2018. On 31 October 2018,
Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake to
Shiv Vihar section was opened. On 31 December 2018,
Lajpat Nagar
Lajpat Nagar is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the South East Delhi district of Delhi. It was named in honor of Lala Lajpat Rai and is today most known for the Lajpat Nagar Central Market. This area is not to be confused with the ...
to
Mayur Vihar Pocket I section opened. The final section between
Mayur Vihar Pocket I and
Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake was opened on 6 August 2021 after being previously delayed due to land acquisition and rehabilitation issues.
The Pink Line consists of 38
metro stations
A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the ...
from
Majlis Park to
Shiv Vihar, both in North Delhi. With a length of , it is the longest line in Delhi Metro, breaking the record set by the operational
Blue Line (excluding branch line). It is mostly elevated and covers Delhi in an almost 'U' shaped pattern. The Pink Line is also known as the Ring Road Line, as the entire line passes alongside the busy
Ring Road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
in Delhi, which witnesses massive traffic jams every day.
The Pink line has interchanges with most of the operational lines of the network such as the
Red Line at
Netaji Subhash Place &
Welcome
A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person.
In some context ...
,
Yellow Line at
Azadpur
Azadpur is one of the districts located in North Delhi India at Alipur Road near Delhi University pincode is 110033. It is adjoining to the Model Town, Kingsway Camp, GTB Nagar, and Shalimar Bagh. It falls under the parliamentary constituency ...
&
Dilli Haat - INA,
Blue Line at
Rajouri Garden
Rajouri Garden is a market and residential neighbourhood in West Delhi, India. The Main Market and Nehru Market are the key markets of the area. The population is largely Punjabi who migrated to Delhi, following the Partition of India, from Paki ...
,
Mayur Vihar Phase-I,
Anand Vihar
Anand Vihar Terminal (station code: ANVT) is a railway station in the Anand Vihar locality of Delhi, India. It is under the administrative control of the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
This station was offi ...
&
Karkarduma,
Green Line at
Punjabi Bagh West,
Dhaula Kuan
Dhaula Kuan ( hi, धौला कुआँ) is a major intersection of roads in Delhi, India. The name also now refers to the neighbourhood surrounding the intersection.
Intersection
Five major thoroughfares in Delhi meet at Dhaula Kuan. ...
of
Airport Express (Orange Line) at
Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus,
Violet Line at
Lajpat Nagar
Lajpat Nagar is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the South East Delhi district of Delhi. It was named in honor of Lala Lajpat Rai and is today most known for the Lajpat Nagar Central Market. This area is not to be confused with the ...
, as well as with
Hazrat Nizamuddin and
Anand Vihar Terminal
Anand Vihar Terminal (station code: ANVT) is a railway station in the Anand Vihar locality of Delhi, India. It is under the administrative control of the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
This station was offi ...
(Indian Railways) and the
ISBT's at
Anand Vihar
Anand Vihar Terminal (station code: ANVT) is a railway station in the Anand Vihar locality of Delhi, India. It is under the administrative control of the Delhi Division of the Northern Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
This station was offi ...
and
Sarai Kale Khan
''For other places with the same name, see Wazirabad (disambiguation)''
Sarai Kale Khan is a village in South East Delhi district in Delhi. This is a Gurjar village of clan Basista/Bosatta. This place is remotely connected to other parts of De ...
. The Pink Line has the highest point of Delhi Metro at
Dhaula Kuan
Dhaula Kuan ( hi, धौला कुआँ) is a major intersection of roads in Delhi, India. The name also now refers to the neighbourhood surrounding the intersection.
Intersection
Five major thoroughfares in Delhi meet at Dhaula Kuan. ...
with a height of 23.6 metres, passing over the Dhaula Kuan grade separator flyovers and the Airport Express Line.
Magenta Line (Line 8)
![Metro in Botanical Garden station of the Magenta line network of Delhi Metro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Metro_in_Botanical_Garden_station_of_the_Magenta_line_network_of_Delhi_Metro.jpg)
The Magenta Line is the first new line of the Third Phase of the Delhi Metro that was partially opened on 25 December 2017 between Botanical Garden and Kalkaji Mandir. The entire length of the line was inaugurated on 28 May 2018.
It consists of 25
metro stations
A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the ...
from
Janakpuri West to
Botanical Garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
. The Magenta Line provide direct connectivity to Terminal 1D of
Indira Gandhi International Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New De ...
. The Hauz Khas station on this line and the current Yellow Line is the deepest Metro station at a depth of 29 metres, surpassing the record set by Chawri Bazaar station on the Yellow Line, at a depth of 25 metres. The Magenta line has interchanges with the
Yellow Line at
Hauz Khas
Hauz Khas is a neighborhood in South Delhi, its heart being the historic Hauz Khas Complex. Well known in medieval times, the Hauz Khas village has amazing buildings built around the reservoir. There are remnants of Islamic architecture rough ...
,
Blue Line at
Janakpuri West and
Botanical Garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
, and
Violet Line at
Kalkaji Mandir of the Delhi Metro network.
India's first ever fully-automated driverless train service was started on Magenta line in December 2020.
Grey Line (Line 9)
![GL 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/GL_2.jpg)
The
Grey Line (also known as Line 9) is the shortest route in the system. It connects
Dwarka
Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...
to
Dhansa Bus Stand in the western part of Delhi. It covers around 4.295 km and comprises four stations:
Dhansa Bus Stand,
Najafgarh
Najafgarh is a town in the South West Delhi district of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. It is one of the three subdivisions of the Southwest Delhi district. Najafgarh is located in south western part of Delhi sharing its territory wi ...
,
Nangli and
Dwarka
Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...
. The line has an interchange with
Blue Line at Dwarka Station. The Najafgarh to Dwarka section was opened to the public on 4 October 2019. The extension to Dhansa Bus Stand was scheduled to open in December 2020, but construction got delayed due to the ''
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
,'' and was subsequently inaugurated on 18 September 2021.
Expansion
Phase IV
Delhi Metro was planned to be built in phases spread over approximately 20 years with each phase having a target of five years to be completed and the end of one phase marking the beginning of another. Phase I () and Phase II () were completed in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Phase-III, totaling ,
was mostly completed on 5 April 2019, except for a small section of the Pink Line between the Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stations as well as the Grey Line extension from Najafgarh to Dhansa Bus Stand, which opened on 6 August 2021 and 18 September 2021, respectively.
Phase IV of the network with a length of and 6 lines was finalized by the
Government of Delhi
The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...
in December 2018. Approval from
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
was received for 3 priority corridors in March 2019. Construction work on these 3 priority corridors having a length of commenced on 30 December 2019, with an expected completion date of 2025.
Therefore, at the end of Phase IV, the total length of the Delhi Metro will exceed ,
[Delhi Metro Phase-4 gets government nod](_blank)
, ''The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'', 6 January 2017. which does not include other independently operated systems in the
National Capital Region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
such as the long Aqua Line of the
Noida-Greater Noida Metro
The Noida Metro is a rapid transit system connecting the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. The metro network consists of one line (called Aqua Line), with a total length of serving 21 statio ...
and the of the
Rapid Metro Gurgaon
Rapid Metro Gurgaon is a light metro system serving the city of Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Rapid Metro connects the commercial areas of Gurgaon, and acts as a feeder link to the Delhi Metro with an interchange with its Yellow Line at Sikanderp ...
that connect to the Delhi Metro.
[Delhi Metro: DMRC to come up with elevated road network below these 3 new lines](_blank)
''The Financial Express'', 21 December 2018. This may make Delhi Metro the
5th longest metro system by route length after
Chengdu Metro
The Chengdu Metro is the rapid transit system of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, China. With the opening of Line 1 on 27 September 2010, the system consists of 12 subway lines and 1 light rail line. It has subsequently undergone rapid expansion. ...
,
Beijing Subway
The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...
,
Shanghai metro
The Shanghai Metro (; Shanghainese: ''Zaon6he5 Di6thiq7'') is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, operating urban and suburban transit services to 14 of its 16 municipal districts and to Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Served as a part of Shangha ...
and
Guangzhou Metro
The Guangzhou Metro () ( and ) is the rapid transit system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, af ...
.
Proposed Phase V
Former managing director of DMRC
E. Sreedharan
Elattuvalapil Sreedharan (born 12 June 1930) is an Indian engineer and politician from the Indian state of Kerala. He is credited with changing the face of public transport in India with his leadership in building the Konkan Railway and the De ...
stated that by the time Phase IV is completed, the city will need Phase V to cope with the rising population and transport needs.
Planning work for Phase V has not started. However, the following corridors, while not specifically tied or approved to any expansion phase have been suggested to be constructed in the near future:
*''
Yamuna Bank –
Loni
Loni is a somewhat popular female name related to the given names Leonie, Lonna (or Lona) and Lonnie.
It may refer to:
People
* Loni (Pashtun tribe), a branch of the Durrani tribe in Pakistan and Afghanistan
** Arman Loni (1983-2019), Pashtun ...
Border'': long, dropped from Phase IV expansion.
Haryana and UP connectivity
Haryana projects
*''Narela to Sonipat'' - approved: An extension of
Red Line. In June 2017, the Government of Haryana's cabinet approved the investment of INR 968.20 crore (US$150 million), as its share on the 80:20 equity ratio with the Union Government, for the extension of Delhi Metro from the existing
Rithala metro station
The Rithala Metro Station is a terminal station of the Red Line of Delhi Metro. It is an elevated station and is located in Rithala, Sector 5, Rohini in Delhi, India. The station was inaugurated on 31 March 2004.
It is within walking distanc ...
to
Sonipat
Sonipat is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sonipat district of Haryana state of India. It comes under the National Capital Region and is around from New Delhi. It is also around 214 km (128 miles) southwest o ...
via
Bawana
Bawana is a census town founded by two Gaur Brahmins Kala and Thukrai in the North West district of Delhi, India. It houses the Bawana Fortress of Zail (also called Bawana Tehsil), a Zail headquarter built by the who were (chief) of Bawana Zai ...
with three elevated stations at Sector 5 of
Narela
Narela and sub-city is a tehsil, located in the North Delhi district of Delhi, and forms the border of Delhi with Haryana. Situated just off the Grand Trunk Road, its location made it an important market town for the surrounding areas, during t ...
in Delhi, on Delhi border at
Kundli Industrial Area and Nathupur Industrial Area in Sonipat, which are planned to be built as part of Phase IV.
*''
HUDA City Centre to
Moulsari Avenue'' - approved: The total length of the corridor shall be about 28.80 km, consisting 27 elevated stations with six interchange stations. This link would start at HUDA City Centre and move towards Sector 45, Cyber Park, district shopping centre, Sector 47, Subhash Chowk, Sector 48, Sector 72 A, Hero Honda Chowk, Udyog Vihar Phase 6, Sector 10, Sector 37, Basai village, Sector 9, Sector 7, Sector 4, Sector 5, Ashok Vihar, Sector 3, Bajghera Road, Palam Vihar Extension, Palam Vihar, Sector 23 A, Sector 22, Udyog Vihar Phase 4, Udyog Vihar Phase 5 and finally merge in existing Metro network of
Rapid Metro Gurgaon
Rapid Metro Gurgaon is a light metro system serving the city of Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Rapid Metro connects the commercial areas of Gurgaon, and acts as a feeder link to the Delhi Metro with an interchange with its Yellow Line at Sikanderp ...
at Moulsari Avenue station near Cyber City.
*''
HUDA City Centre to
Manesar City'' - approved: An extension of
Yellow Line, included in the Gurgaon Masterplan 2031,
[Expected PM Narendra Modi to announce Metro's extension to other parts of Haryana, says CM Bhupinder Hooda](_blank)
, DNA India News, September 2015. approved by the Haryana govt will go up to Panchgaon Chowk in Manesar,
[Route alignment of Manesar metro changed]
''The Times of India'', Nov 2018. where it will interchange with
Delhi–Alwar Regional Rapid Transit System
Delhi–Alwar Regional Rapid Transit System (Delhi–Alwar RRTS) is a 164 km long under-construction semi-high speed rail corridor connecting Delhi, Gurgaon, Rewari and Alwar. It is one of the three rapid-rail corridors planned under Phas ...
,
Western Peripheral Expressway's Multimodal Transit Centre and
Jhajjar-Palwal rail line.
*''Gurgaon – Faridabad metro'' - DPR ready: In May 2020, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and survey for the 32 km long Gurgaon-Faridabad metro link from Vatika Chowk in Gururam to Bata Chowk in Faridabad was completed which will have 8 stations, of which the 28 km elevated stretch along the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road through
eco-sensitive wildlife corridor will be elevated.
*''
Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh –
Rohtak City'': A
Green Line extension. As of July 2017, proposed only and not yet approved.
*''
Dhansa Bus Stand –
Jhajjar City'': A
Grey Line extension, proposed only and not yet approved.
Uttar Pradesh (UP) projects
*''
Shiv Vihar –
Loni
Loni is a somewhat popular female name related to the given names Leonie, Lonna (or Lona) and Lonnie.
It may refer to:
People
* Loni (Pashtun tribe), a branch of the Durrani tribe in Pakistan and Afghanistan
** Arman Loni (1983-2019), Pashtun ...
'': Proposed only, not approved.
*''
Noida
Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...
–
Noida International Airport
Noida International Airport is an international airport being constructed near Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar District, Uttar Pradesh in India. Once completed, it is planned to be India's largest airport. The Noida International Airport Limit ...
'': a long surface running line along the
Yamuna Expressway
Yamuna Expressway is a 6-lane wide (expandable to 8) and 165.5 km long Controlled-access highway, access-controlled expressway in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is presently India's 3rd longest expressway since February 2017. It was bui ...
serving the proposed new Noida International Airport. The line is envisioned to be completed by 2025 and will connect with the
Noida Metro
The Noida Metro is a rapid transit system connecting the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. The metro network consists of one line (called Aqua Line), with a total length of serving 21 statio ...
.
[YEIDA revives proposal for Greater Noida-Jewar airport Metro](_blank)
, The Economic Times
''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...
, 25 April 2017.
Operations
![Metro in Botanical Garden station of the Magenta line network of Delhi Metro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Metro_in_Botanical_Garden_station_of_the_Magenta_line_network_of_Delhi_Metro.jpg)
The trains operate at a frequency of one to two minutes to five to ten minutes between 05:00 and 00:00, depending upon the peak and off-peak hours. Trains operating within the network typically travel at speed up to and stop for about 20 seconds at each station. Automated station announcements are recorded in Hindi and English. Many stations have services such as
ATMs,
food outlets,
cafés
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
,
convenience stores
A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...
and mobile recharge. Eating, drinking, smoking, and chewing gum are prohibited in the entire system. The Metro also has a sophisticated
fire alarm system
A fire alarm system warns people when smoke, fire, carbon monoxide or other fire-related or general notification emergency, emergencies are detected. These alarms may be activated automatically from smoke detectors and heat detectors or may also ...
for advance warning in emergencies, and
fire retardant material is used in trains as well as on the premises of stations. Navigation information is available on
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
.
Since October 2010, the first coach of every train is reserved for women. However, last coaches are also reserved when the train changes tracks at the terminal stations in the Red, Green and Violet Lines.
To make travelling by metro a smoother experience, Delhi Metro has launched its own official mobile app ''Delhi Metro Rail'' for smartphone users,(
iPhone and
Android) that will provide information on various facilities like the location of the nearest metro station, fare, parking availability, tourist spots near metro stations, security and emergency helpline numbers.
Security
Security on the Delhi Metro is handled by
CISF Unit DMRC of
Central Industrial Security Force
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a federal police organisation in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). CISF provides security to over 356 industrial units (including 1 ...
(CISF), who have been guarding the system ever since they took over from the
Delhi Police
The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Delhi Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. In 2015, sanctioned strength of Delhi ...
in 2007.
Closed-circuit camera
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
s are used to monitor trains and stations, and feed from these is monitored by both the CISF and Delhi Metro authorities at their respective control rooms. Over 7000 CISF personnel have been deployed for security of metro and its installations in addition to
metal detectors
A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...
,
X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
baggage inspection systems, and
dog squads which are used to secure the system. To deal with law and order issues in the system, 18 Delhi Metro Rail Police (A dedicated wing of Delhi Police) stations have been established. About 5,200 CCTV cameras have been installed, which cover every nook and corner of each Metro station. Each of the underground stations has about 45 to 50 cameras installed while the elevated stations have about 16 to 20 cameras each. The monitoring of these cameras is done by the CISF, which is in charge of the security of the Metro, as well as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
Intercom
An intercom, also called an intercommunication device, intercommunicator, or interphone, is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings which functions independently of the public telephon ...
s are provided in each train car for emergency communication between the passengers and the train operator. Periodic
security drills are carried out at stations and on trains to ensure the preparedness of security agencies in emergency situations.
DMRC is also looking at raising the station walls and railings for the safety of passengers.
Ticketing and recharge
![Delhi Metro token (44477075641)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Delhi_Metro_token_%2844477075641%29.jpg)
Delhi Metro's fares were last revised and went into effect on 10 October 2017 based on the recommendation of the 4th Fare Fixation Committee in May 2016.
For convenience, Delhi Metro commuters have five choices for ticket purchase. These are:
*
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
token:
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
tokens are valid only for a single journey on the day of purchase and the value depends on the distance travelled, with fares for a single journey ranging from to . Fares are calculated based on the distance between the origin and destination stations. They were last revised by DMRC in October 2017.
*Smart card: Smart cards are available for longer durations and are the most convenient for frequent commuters. They are valid for ten years from the date of purchase or the date of the last recharge and are available in denominations of to . A 10% discount is given on all travel made on it. An additional 10% discount is given to travel card holders for entering the metro system in off-peak hours i.e. From the start of revenue services to 800 hours, from 1200 hours to 1700 hours, and after 2100 hours to the end of metro service in the night. This additional discount is given only on Weekdays i.e. from Monday to Saturday. A deposit of needs to be made to buy a new card which is refundable on the return of the card any time before its expiry if the card is not physically damaged. For women commuters,
Delhi government
The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...
had proposed a fare exemption scheme, i.e., that women could ride free all across all of Delhi Metro's network. However, this proposal was shot down by the DMRC.
: A common ticketing facility that allowed commuters to use smart cards in both
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and the metro was rolled out on 28 August 2018, under the 'common mobility card' project.
*Tourist card: Tourist cards can be used for unlimited travel on the Delhi Metro network over short periods of time. There are two kinds of tourist cards valid for one and three days respectively. The cost of a one-day card is and that of a three-day card is , including a refundable deposit of that must be paid at the time of purchasing the card.
*
National Common Mobility Card
National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is an inter-operable transport card conceived by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government of India. It was launched on 4 March 2019. The transport card enables the user to pay for travel, t ...
: Part of the 'One Nation, One Card' policy of the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
, the National Common Mobility Card is an inter-operable transport card that enables the user to pay for travel, toll duties (toll tax), retail shopping and withdraw money. It is enabled through the
RuPay
RuPay ''(portmanteau of Rupee and Payment)'' is an Indian multinational financial services and payment service system, conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on 26 March 2012. It was created to fulfil th ...
card mechanism. The NCMC was commissioned on the Delhi Metro network on 28 December 2020 and currently, can only be used to pay fares on the Airport Express Line. The DMRC plans to makes the entire Delhi Metro network NCMC compliant by June 2023.
*
QR code based ticketing: A Delhi Metro QR ticket is a mobile-based ticket that allows people to travel from one destination to another, just like the conventional token or recharge card. The ticket can be bought online using the RIDLR app. For entry and exit, the QR ticket has to be scanned at the QR scanner of the AFC gates. Similar to mobile-based tickets, there are also paper-based QR tickets that can be bought from the station itself. For entry and exit, the QR ticket has to be scanned at the QR scanner of the AFC gates.
Problems
![Gurgaon IFFCO Chowk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Gurgaon_IFFCO_Chowk.jpg)
As the network has expanded, high ridership in new trains has led to increasing instances of overcrowding and delays on the Delhi Metro.
To alleviate the problem, 8 coach trains have been introduced in Yellow line and Blue line and an increase in the frequency of trains has been proposed.
Infrequent, overcrowded and erratic feeder bus services connecting stations to nearby localities have also been reported as an area of concern. While the quality and the cleanliness of the Delhi Metro was lauded, the rising cost of fares have been routinely criticized, with fares being much more expensive compared to the bus services the metro replaced.
One recent study has named the fares of the Delhi Metro as one of the world's most unaffordable among the metros that charge more than US$0.5 per ride. Another study finds that Delhi Metro may also have a low ridership problem compared to its size and may not be generating the amount of traffic a metro system generates.
Feeder buses
DMRC operates around 291 electric feeder buses on 42 routes connecting 54 metro stations in Delhi. Around two hundred thousand people use the feeder bus service on a daily basis. Timings of Feeder Bus operation are 08:00 Hours to 20:00 Hours at a frequency of 10 to 15 minutes depending upon Road Traffic density. However, if an operator wishes he can operate before/beyond these hours. At present Metro, Feeder Bus Depots are located at Shastri Park, Kohat Enclave, Janakpuri West, Dwarka Sector-9, Chhatarpur, Yamuna Bank, Azadpur.
Ridership
Delhi Metro had a continuous increase in ridership since its inception up to FY 2016–17. When Metro services were introduced in 2002, the average ridership was 80,000 passengers per day. In FY 2016–17, average daily ridership rose to 28 lakh (2.8 million).
Ridership declined in 2017-18 and marginally increased in 2018-19, following fare increases.
In 2019, ridership averaged 47 lakh (4.7 million) per day between May and June 2019.
The highest number of passengers in a single day was reached on 30 July 2019, with 51.6 lakh (5.16 million) trips on the network.
[ In FY 2019–20, the average daily ridership was 27.8 lakhs (2.78 million).]
Delhi Metro was suspended on 25 March 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, and operations were restarted on 12 September 2020, resulting in a decline in average daily ridership to 8.78 lakhs (0.88 million) in FY 2020–21.
* Including Rapid Metro Gurgaon
Rapid Metro Gurgaon is a light metro system serving the city of Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Rapid Metro connects the commercial areas of Gurgaon, and acts as a feeder link to the Delhi Metro with an interchange with its Yellow Line at Sikanderp ...
Finances
Summary financials
Source:
Delhi Metro has been operating with a loss on an EBT basis since 2010, although the loss has reduced after 2015–16. EBITDA margin declined from 73% in Fiscal 2007 to 27% in Fiscal 2016–17 before improving to 30% in 2017–18. In 2014, Delhi Metro started a semi-naming policy of metro stations, awarded through an open e-tendering process, to generate non-fare revenues.
Funding and capitalisation
DMRC is owned equally by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
.
As of March 2016, total debt stood at , while equity capital was . The cost of the debt is 0% for Union Government and Delhi Government loans and between 0.01% and 2.3% for Japan International Cooperation Agency
The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...
(JICA) loans. Of the equity capital as of 31 March 2016, is paid-up capital, and the rest is reserves and surplus.
Depots
Delhi Metro currently has 15 operational depots.
Rolling stock
The Delhi Metro uses the rolling stock of two different gauges. Phase I lines use broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
rolling stock, while three Phase II lines use rolling stock. Trains are maintained at seven depots at Khyber Pass and Sultanpur for the Yellow Line, Mundka for the Green Line, Najafgarh and Yamuna Bank for the Blue Line, Shastri Park for the Red Line, and Sarita Vihar for the Violet Line.
Maglev
Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation''), is a system of train transportation that uses two sets of electromagnets: one set to repel and push the train up off the track, and another set to move the elevated train ahead, taking advantage ...
trains were initially considered for some lines of Phase 3, but DMRC decided to continue with conventional rail in August 2012.
As on 31 March 2015, the company has a total of 1,306 coaches (220 trains). Apart from extensions on various existing lines, two new lines viz. Lines 7 & 8 are proposed in Phase III. 486 coaches (81 six-car trains) being procured for these two new lines will have an advanced feature in Unattended Train Operation (UTO). Additional 258 broad gauge (BG) coaches for Lines 1 to 4 and 138 standard gauge (SG) coaches for Lines 5 & 6 are proposed to be procured for augmentation/extensions to cater to the increased traffic. Resultantly, at the end of Phase III, there would be 2,188 coaches (333 trains). Barring a few 4-car trains on Line 5, 93% of the trains would operate either in 6-car or 8-car configuration at the end of Phase III.
Broad gauge
The rolling stock is manufactured by two major suppliers. For Phase I, the rolling stock was supplied by a consortium of companies comprising Hyundai Rotem
Hyundai Rotem (founded in 1977) is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to refl ...
, Mitsubishi Corporation
is Japan's largest trading company (sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. As of 2022, Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 80,000 people and has ten business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals, an ...
, and MELCO
Melco Holdings Inc. is a family business founded by Makoto Maki in 1975 and is located in Japan. The company's most recognizable brand is Buffalo Inc.
Buffalo Inc. is currently one of the 16 subsidiaries of Melco Holdings Inc., initially found ...
. The coaches have a very similar look to MTR Rotem EMU
The Rotem EMU (also known as K-Train/K-Stock) is an electric multiple unit that operates on the MTR rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. They were jointly built by a consortium consisting of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan and Hyun ...
, but there are only 4 doors and sliding doors are used instead of plug doors. The coaches were initially built in South Korea by ROTEM, then in Bangalore by BEML
BEML Limited, formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited, is an Indian Public Sector Undertaking, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. It manufactures a variety of heavy equipment, such as that used for earth moving, railways, transport and ...
through a technology transfer
Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...
arrangement. These trains consist of four stainless steel lightweight coaches with vestibules permitting movement throughout their length and can carry up to 1,500 passengers, with 50 seated and 330 standing passengers per coach. The coaches are fully air-conditioned, equipped with automatic doors, microprocessor-controlled brakes and secondary air suspension, and are capable of maintaining an average speed of over a distance of . The system is extensible up to eight coaches, and platforms have been designed accordingly.
The rolling stock for Phase II is being supplied by Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
, which has received an order for 614 cars worth approximately . While initial trains were made in Görlitz
Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...
, Germany and Sweden, the remainder will be built at Bombardier's factory in Savli, near Vadodara
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
. These trains are a mix of four-car and six-car consists, capable of accommodating 1178 and 1792 commuters per train respectively. The coaches possess several improved features like Closed Circuit Television
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
(CCTV) cameras with eight-hour backup for added security, charging points in all coaches for cell phones and laptops, improved air conditioning to provide a temperature of even in packed conditions and heaters for winter.
Standard gauge
The standard gauge rolling stock is manufactured by BEML at its factory in Bangalore. Most of these trains are supplied to BEML by Hyundai Rotem. The trains are four-car consists with a capacity of 1,506 commuters per train, accommodating 50 seated and 292 standing passengers in each coach. These trains will have CCTV cameras in and outside the coaches, power supply connections inside coaches to charge mobiles and laptops, better humidity control, microprocessor-controlled disc brakes, and will be capable of maintaining an average speed of over a distance of .
Airport Express
Eight 6-car trains supplied by CAF Beasain
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (Grupo CAF, literally "Construction and Other Railway Services") is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidia ...
were imported from Spain. CAF held 5% equity in the DAME project, and Reliance Infrastructure
Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R-Infra), formerly Reliance Energy Limited (REL) and Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES), is an Indian private sector enterprise involved in power generation, infrastructure, construction and defence. It is p ...
held the remaining 95% before DMRC took over the operations. The trains on this line are of a premium standard compared to the existing metro trains and have inbuilt noise reduction and padded fabric seats. The coaches are equipped with LCD screens for the entertainment of the passengers and also provide flight information for the convenience of air travellers. The trains are fitted with an event recorder which can withstand high levels of temperature and impact and the wheels have a flange lubrication system for less noise and better riding comfort.
Signalling and telecommunication
The Delhi Metro uses cab signalling
Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an ...
along with a centralised automatic train control
Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver do ...
system consisting of automatic operation, protection
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
and signalling modules. A 380 MHz digital trunked TETRA radio communication system from Motorola Solutions
Motorola Solutions, Inc., is an American video equipment, telecommunications equipment, software, systems and services provider that succeeded Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola Mobility in 2011. The ...
is used on all lines to carry both voice and data information. For the Blue Line, Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
supplied the electronic interlocking Sicas, the operation control system Vicos OC 500 and the automation control system LZB 700 M. An integrated system comprising optical fibre cable
A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with ...
, on-train radio, CCTV, and a centralised clock and public address system
A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
is used for telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
during train operations as well as emergencies. For Red and Yellow lines ALSTOM has supplied signalling system and for the Green and Violet lines, Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
supplied its CITYFLO 350 signalling system.
The Airport Express
The AirPort Express is a Wi-Fi base station product from Apple Inc., part of the AirPort product line. While more compact and in some ways simpler than another Apple Wi-Fi base station, the AirPort Extreme, the Express offers audio output capa ...
line introduced WiFi services at all stations along the route on 13 January 2012. Connectivity inside metro trains travelling on the route is expected in the future. The WiFi service is provided by ''YOU Broadband and Cable India Limited''. In August 2017, Wifi service was launched at all the 50 stations under Blue Line.
A fully automated, operator-less train system has been offered to Delhi Metro by the French defense and civilian technologies major Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
.
Environment and aesthetics
The Delhi Metro has won awards for environmentally friendly practices from organisations including the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, RINA, and the International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...
, becoming the second metro in the world, after the New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
, to be ISO 14001
ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b ...
certified for environmentally friendly construction. Most of the Metro stations on the Blue Line conduct rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...
as an environmental protection measure. It is also the first railway project in the world to earn carbon credit
A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit a set amount of carbon dioxide or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas (tCO2e).
Carbon credits and carbon markets are a compo ...
s after being registered with the United Nations under the Clean Development Mechanism
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a United Nations-run carbon offset scheme allowing countries to fund greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects in other countries and claim the saved emissions as part of their own efforts to meet internati ...
, and has so far earned 400,000 carbon credits by saving energy through the use of regenerative braking
Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism, the electric traction mo ...
systems on its trains. To reduce its dependence on non-renewable sources of energy, DMRC is looking forward to harnessing solar energy and install solar panels at the Karkarduma, Noida Sector-21, Anand Vihar and Pragati Maidan Metro stations and DMRC's residential complex at Pushp Vihar. As of March 2017, the DMRC has commissioned 20 MWp (megawatt peak) of solar power plants across 21 locations on the metro network. This is planned to increase to 31 MWp by March 2018, and 50 MWp by 2021.
The Metro has been promoted as an integral part of community infrastructure, and community artwork depicting the local way of life has been put on display at stations. Students of local art colleges have also designed decorative murals at Metro stations, while pillars of the viaduct on some elevated sections have been decorated with mosaic murals created by local schoolchildren. The Metro station at INA Colony
INA colony is a residential colony maintained by the Airports Authority of India for their employees. It was named after a former private airline, Indian National Airways, which was amongst those nationalised and merged to form, Indian Airli ...
has a gallery showcasing artwork and handicrafts from across India, while all stations on the Central Secretariat – Qutub Minar section of the Yellow Line have panels installed on the monumental architectural heritage of Delhi. The Nobel Memorial Wall at Rajiv Chowk has portraits of the seven Nobel Laureates from India: Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
, CV Raman
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (; 7 November 188821 November 1970) was an Indian physicist known for his work in the field of light scattering.
Using a spectrograph that he developed, he and his student K. S. Krishnan discovered that when ...
, Hargobind Khorana
Har Gobind Khorana (9 January 1922 – 9 November 2011) was an Indian American biochemist. While on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg an ...
, Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; ) (19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian-American theoretical physicist who spent his professional life in the United States. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for "... ...
, Amartya Sen
Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...
and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (born 1952) is an Indian-born British and American structural biologist who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath, "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome".
...
and provide details about their contribution to society with separate panels on Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes.
Awards
* Delhi Metro Rail Corporation won the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2005.
* Delhi Metro Rail Corporation became the first Indian company to bag the World Green Building Council
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is a non-profit organisation and global network of national Green Building Councils (GBCs). It has member councils in over 70 countries worldwide, which collectively have 49,000 members (25,000 member co ...
award for demonstrating "Industry Leadership in Sustainability".
* Delhi Metro Rail Corporation won the PSU of the Year Award from the All India Management Association (AIMA), in 2016.
* Delhi Metro Rail Corporation won the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President's Award 2012.
In popular culture
Many films have been shot in Delhi Metro. The first-ever movie to be shot in Delhi metro was Bewafaa in November 2003. Later, Delhi-6
''Delhi-6'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan as an NRI who arrives in India with his ailing grandmother (played by Waheeda Rehman) and begins discovering his roots b ...
, Love Aaj Kal, Paa were few popular films that have sequences shot inside Delhi metro trains and station premises. In March 2014, the shooting of Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six ...
and Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif (; born Katrina Turquotte; 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, in a ...
starrer film Bang Bang!
''Bang Bang!'' is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Siddharth Anand and written by Abbas Tyrewala, Sujoy Ghosh and Suresh Nair. Produced by Fox Star Studios, it is an official remake of the 2010 American satirical acti ...
was done near Mayur Vihar Extension metro station. In 2019, Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff starrer film War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
was one of the last films to be shot in Delhi metro.
See also
* Urban rail transit in India
Urban rail transit in India plays an important role in intracity transportation in the major cities which are highly populated. It consists of rapid transit, suburban rail, monorail and tram systems. According to a report published in 2021, a ...
** List of Delhi Metro stations
This is a list of all stations of the Delhi Metro, a rapid transit system serving Delhi and its satellite cities in the National Capital Region of India. The network consists of 10 colour-coded lines serving 255 stations with a total length of ...
** Delhi Suburban Railway
Delhi Suburban Railway is a suburban rail service operated by Northern Railway for the National Capital Region (NCR). This railway service covers Delhi, along with the adjoining districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Sonipat and other ad ...
* Transport in Delhi
Delhi has significant reliance on its transport infrastructure. The city has developed a highly efficient public transport system with the introduction of the Delhi Metro, which is undergoing a rapid modernization and expansion since 2006. Th ...
** National Capital Region Transport Corporation
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is a joint venture company of the Government of India and the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. The NCRTC is mandated with implementing the Regional Rapid Transit ...
** Delhi Transport Corporation
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is the main public transport operator of Delhi. It is the largest CNG-powered bus service operator in the world.
History
The Delhi Transport Corporation was incorporated in May 1948 by the Indian governmen ...
** Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) is a centre-state joint venture that operates the Delhi Metro. The DMRC is also involved in the planning and implementation of metro rail, monorail, and high-speed rail projects in India and abroad. T ...
* List of suburban and commuter rail systems
This is an alphabetical listing of cities and countries that have commuter or suburban railways that are currently operational and in service. Commuter and suburban rail systems are train services that connect city centres with outer suburbs or ...
* Lists of rapid transit systems
These lists of rapid transit systems are sorted by the type of system:
* List of tram and light rail transit systems
* List of town tramway systems
* Medium-capacity rail transport system
* List of premetro systems
* List of metro systems
* List of ...
* List of metro systems
This list of metro systems includes electrified rapid transit train systems worldwide. In some parts of the world, metro systems are referred to as subways, U-Bahn or undergrounds. , 205 cities in 61 countries have a metro system.
The London ...
* Metro Tunneling Group
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
Delhi Metro route map
*
Collection of Delhi Metro Images
{{Internationally Metro Organizations
New Delhi
Siemens Mobility projects
Underground rapid transit in India
Railway lines opened in 2002
Transport in Delhi
5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India
Standard gauge railways in India
2002 establishments in Delhi
Automated guideway transit