NEW DELHI: Anil Marwah (65) has never missed riding the Delhi Metro on the first day of any inauguration since it began operations on Dec 25, 2002.On Sunday, he completed his 41st inaugural ride on the first train from Deepali Chowk-Majlis Park. He followed that with a second ride on the Majlis Park–MaujpurBabarpur stretch too.“It all started as fun thing to do,” Marwah said. “I work with an airline and had earlier lived in Japan, where I enjoyed travelling by metro. When Delhi got its first metro in 2002, my son and I decided to take a ride from Shahdara. Since then, I have made sure to travel on the first train of every extension,” he said.As the two corridors opened simultaneously, he could not catch the first train on the Majlis Park–Maujpur Babarpur corridor.The Majlis Park–Maujpur-Babarpur stretch is an extension of the Delhi Metro Pink Line, while the Deepali Chowk–Majlis Park section extends the Delhi Metro Magenta Line. During the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also laid the foundation stone for three corridors under the metro’s Phase V-A expansion, which will add 16.1 km to the network. The planned corridors are RK Ashram Marg–Indraprastha, Aerocity–Indira Gandhi Airport Terminal-1, and Tughlakabad–Kalindi Kunj. With the addition of the Majlis Park–Maujpur-Babarpur corridor, the Pink Line has become the first line in the Delhi Metro network to form a complete circular route. Stretching 71.5 km with 46 stations, it is currently the longest line in the system. Two engineering highlights of the corridor are the Yamuna bridge and a double-decker viaduct. Delhi’s first 1.4-km double-decker viaduct, located between Bhajanpura and Yamuna Vihar, will significantly reshape the landscape of northeast Delhi. Metro trains run on the upper deck, while the lower deck has been designed for vehicular traffic. Trains have already begun operating on the structure, though the road ramp connecting to the viaduct is expected to be completed in a few months. “The construction of the ramp for the road section of the double-decker viaduct, which was pending, is now being started as tree-cutting permission has just come. It will be completed this year,” an official said earlier. With the new corridor operational, the metro will cross the Yamuna using its fifth bridge, linking Soorghat and Sonia Vihar. The bridge is among 25 structures spanning the 22-km stretch of the Yamuna between the Wazirabad and Okhla barrages. The other four metro bridges include Yamuna Bank on the Delhi Metro Blue Line, Shastri Park on the Delhi Metro Red Line, Kalindi Kunj on the Magenta Line, and Nizamuddin on the Pink Line. Meanwhile, the fully elevated Deepali Chowk–Majlis Park section of the Magenta Line has seven stations, including three interchange points: Madhuban Chowk (Line-1), Haiderpur Badli Mor (Line-2), and Majlis Park (Line-7). The corridor is expected to strengthen connectivity between west and north Delhi. A DMRC official said the upcoming Deepali Chowk–Bhalaswa stretch, about 8 km long along the Outer Ring Road, is expected to significantly reduce congestion along the busy corridor. The entire Janakpuri West–RK Ashram Marg corridor spans 29.3 km and will have 22 stations. Officials said the remaining sections are expected to open in phases between 2026 and 2027. Once the under-construction corridors from Ramakrishna Ashram Marg to Indraprastha (via Central Vista) and from Indraprastha to Inderlok are completed, the Magenta Line will run from Botanical Garden to Inderlok for about 89 km, making it the longest corridor in the network and surpassing the Pink Line.
