With 18 more Interchange Metro stations in Phase-III of Delhi Metro, distances to shrink

With 18 more Interchange Metro stations in Phase-III of Delhi Metro, distances to shrink

Commuting between east and south Delhi has already become easier with the opening of the interchange station at Mandi House

New Delhi: Come 2016, and Delhi is all set to become smaller.Thanks to 18 more interchange stations – connecting two or more lines–in Phase III of Delhi Metro, distances will shrink.

While the Metro network now has nine interchange stations, new link stations – likely to be functional by December 2016 – could change the way Delhi travels. For instance, the distance from Karkardooma station to Welcome is 19.26km.

Similarly, the distance between Anand Vihar and Welcome is 20.32km. Once Karkardooma and Anand Vihar, both on the Dwarka-Vaishali line, become interchange stations under Phase III, the distance to Welcome on the Rithala-Dilshad Garden line will come down to 4.3km and 5.4km, respectively – down by almost 15km.

“New interchange stations will not only cut down on travel time but also help passengers save money,” said DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal. ” After Phase III, commuters will be able to access almost all parts of the city without going to Rajiv Chowk and Central Secretariat, which are busy interchange stations now,” said another official. With Phase III, Delhi Metro’s network will have 27 interchange stations.

Commuting between east and south Delhi has already become easier with the opening of the interchange station at Mandi House on the heritage line on June 6.The commuters from Noida can now save at least 30 minutes while travelling to Gurgaon. And more are in the pipeline.

Hauz Khas station, linking the Jahangirpuri-Gurgaon and the new Janakpuri (West) – Botanical Garden lines, will reduce the distance to Kalkaji by about 13.14km.”Now, for the same route, the interchange facility is available only at Central Secretariat station and the distance between the two stations is about 18.6km. But the distance between Hauz Khas and Kalkaji would be just 5.45km,” said Dayal.

Again, the Rajouri Garden station, which will be the interchange station between the Dwarka Sector 21-NoidaVaishali and the Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridors, will help west Delhi residents travel easily to south Delhi, making popular shopping destinations like Sarojini Nagar, South Extension and Lajpat Nagar more accessible. They now have to travel to Rajiv Chowk to take the Gurgaon line to reach these places.

Under phases I and II, the nine interchange stations are Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate, Central Secretariat, Inderlok, Ashok Park Main, Yamuna Bank, Dwarka Sector 21, New Delhi and Kirti Nagar.