Anand Vihar metro station to open by year-end, ease travel woes

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Come 2011, an estimated 2.5 lakh commuters will board the Delhi Metro from Anand Vihar the last stop before the Metro enters Ghaziabad making it the busiest station of Phase II barring the interchange stations.

The strategic location of this station it is bang at the Delhi-UP border at Maharajpur and shares boundaries with the new Anand Vihar railway station and an existing ISBT makes it an integral part of the Delhi Metro network. The transport complex is being designed to ensure that commuters using the three modes can use all the terminals without having to exit the complex.

It will be internally connected to the railway station coming up in the adjacent plot with a foot overbridge and an existing ISBT which is going to be ravamped before the Commonwealth Games, to ensure that those coming to Delhi by train or interstate buses can take the Metro from this point to commute within the Capital. The circulation area for the Metro station and bus terminal is common to enable easy access to both systems.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has also planned a 12-metre-wide passage connecting the Metro station from the ground level to the ISBT and Indian Railways station, which will be open for people round the clock.

The sprawling station building, spread across five floors on a 4,900 square meter area, has the platform at the top (third) level. The concourse with the ticket booths and other facilities is located on the second floor. The lower two floors will be utilised for property development and general circulation of crowd. Much on the lines of transport centres in modern cities, the station building will have amenities like cafeterias and retail outlets where commuters can spend time as they wait for a train or bus.

The building is also being designed to give it a world-class look it will have a glazed aluminium composite panel (ACP) facade. Aesthetics apart, the advantage of using ACP is that it is maintenance free, reduces dampness and seepage and does not require frequent painting.

The Metro station has a huge parking facility for over 500 vehicles so that people can drive to the plot, park their vehicles and take the Metro for onward journey. A proposal to construct a multi-level parking lot in this space is also being considered.

The construction of the station building is about 75% complete and is slated for a December 2009 opening, along with the rest of the line from Indraprastha to Anand Vihar. It is the last station on the 6.17-km-long corridor. There is a proposal to further extend the section by 2.57 km to Kaushambi and Vaishali in Ghaziabad. But the extension is awaiting approvals.