Delhi Metro's Magenta Line now open, airport a hop and skip away

New Delhi: Delhi Metro's Magenta Line may have suffered numerous delays but it was officially inaugurated, finally, by CM Arvind Kejriwal and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The line will bring south and west Delhi closer while travelling to the domestic airport too would become a whole lot more convenient.

The 24.82-kilometre line officially opened for the public on Tuesday with commuters lining up to take a ride in a line which now connects Botanical Garden in Noida to Janakpuri in West Delhi. It is reported that those commuting between Gurgaon and Noida can now save 40 minutes with travel time coming down to 50 minutes. Previously, commuters had to reach Rajiv Chowk station from where they switched trains but now, a direct line means that it would be far more convenient to travel between south and West Delhi as well as between Gurgaon and Noida.

The stations on the line are:

Botanical Garden, Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Kalindi Kunj, Jasola Vihar, Okhla Vihar, Sukhdev Vihar, Jamia Milia Islamia, Okhla NSIC, Kalkaji, Nehru Enclave, Greater Kailash, Chirag Delhi, Panchsheel Park, Hauz Khas (interchange junction), IIT, RK Puram, Munirka, Vasant Vihar, Shankar Vihar, Airport T1, Sadar Bazaar Cantt, Palam, Dashrath Puri, Dabri Mor and Janakpuri West.

Delhi Metro has announced the frequency of trains on this line would be 5 minutes and 15 seconds but based on traffic patterns, this may well be shortened. Meanwhile, residents of areas through which this line passes are hailing the convenience. "While the section between Kalkaji Mandir and Botanical Garden was already open since last year, the new line which extends this all the way to Janakpuri will help us immensely in our commute time," says 29-year-old Praveen Bora, a resident of Panchsheel and a sales executive. For Aarti Kharbanda, a resident of Kalkaji, the main attraction of the new line is that she won't have to depend on cabs or her family members to travel to and from the airport. "I have to travel for work almost weekly and have had to depend on either family members or radio cabs to commute. With this line going to the airport and beyond, I can travel not just in comfort and safety but won't have to depend on anyone," says the 34-year-old Chartered Accountant.

Some of the other key highlights of the route are:

* At 25 kilometres, it is the longest stretch to be inaugurated in one-go.

* The line is also being called 'Knowledge Corridor' because it connects four universities are connected by it - JNU, IIT, Jamia Milia Islamia and Amity.

* The line covers Delhi's arterial Outer Ring Road.

* The Hauz Khas station, at 29 metres, is the deepest in the entire network.

* Delhi Metro network has now reached 277 kilometres with DMRC officials saying it would finish the year at 380 kilometres.