INDIA: A 1·5 km section of the Delhi Metro’s Pink Line between Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake opened on August 6, connecting what were previously two separate sections of the line to create a single 59 km route from Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar.
The two sections of the Pink Line or Line 7 opened in stages from 2018, but the short stretch connecting them was delayed by land acquisition and resettlement issues. Partial access for construction was available from October 2019 and full access in December 2020, but the work was then hampered by the pandemic.
The elevated alignment was built using steel girders instead of concrete, to expedite the work and because of the lack of space for a casting yard. A total of 40 girders ranging from 16 to 38 m long were used to form 10 spans for the viaduct, which is 8 to 9·5 m high and includes a 200 m radius curve.
The new section of line is initially subject to a 25 km/h speed limit as commissioning of the automated signalling system is expected to take a further two months.
Phase IV of the project will see the Pink Line extended from Majlis Park to Maujpur, making it longest metro line in India at 70 km. A further extension would joint the two ends of the U-shaped line to form a ring.
The capital’s metro network now totals 390 km and 285 stations, including the Noida – Greater Noida corridor and Rapid Metro in Gurugram.
