Opening of Metro line put off for polls

Friday, May 1, 2009
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The opening of the extension of Delhi Metro's Line 3 till the Yamuna Bank station has been postponed to May 10. The decision to shift the opening after May 7 was taken due to the elections.

According to sources, there was a feeling that the opening of a new Metro line (extension) so close to the elections could have an impact on the votes in that particular area. The Yamuna Bank metro station was earlier scheduled to open on May 2. This extension will add 2.1 kms to the existing Line 3 to cross over to the other side of river Yamuna. "The new Metro station at Yamuna Bank will now be opened for public from May 10 due to the elections,'' said a DMRC spokesperson.

The first train for Dwarka Sector 9 station will leave from Yamuna Bank at 6 am. Thereafter, trains will be available from the station till 11 pm at a frequency of 4-10 minutes as per the peak hour traffic requirement.

DMRC will also start new feeder bus services from Yamuna Bank station to Mayur Vihar Phase 3 via Vikas Marg, New Patparganj Road, Mother Dairy, Mayur Vihar Phase-II, Pocket C, Kalyanpuri, Kondli, Gharole and Mayur Vihar Phase-III. The service will also be available from May 2. The corporation has sought permission for another feeder route from Yamuna Bank to Jheel/Rajgarh Colony via Geeta Colony, Shiv Puri, Rashid Market, Khureji, Shakarpur, Laxmi Nagar and Vikas Marg.

For those living in areas where the feeder services don't reach, the new station has a huge parking lot spread across 5,000 sq metre for over 400 cars where Metro users can leave their cars.

The opening of the section is expected to reduce pressure on Line 1 (Dilshad Garden to Rithala) as surveys reveal that residents of east Delhi can take the Metro from this station, which is much closer than the existing last stop of the line at Indraprastha or the nearest station of Line 1 at Shastri Park.