Delhi Metro makes another foray into NCR, total span reaches 317 km

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the new Escorts Mujesar-Raja Nahar Singh (Ballabhgarh) section of the Violet Line, the entire span of the Delhi Metro network reached 317 km, officials said.

With the opening of this 3.2 km segment, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) also made another foray into the National Capital Region (NCR).

Ballabhgarh will become the fourth city in Haryana to get metro connectivity after Gurgaon, Faridabad and Bahadurgarh.

The DMRC already connects the capital city and neighbouring cities like Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

The prime minister flagged off the Escorts Mujesar-Raja Nahar Singh (Ballabhgarh) section of Delhi Metro's Violet Line through a remote control, a senior official said.

Passenger services on the segment will commence at 5 pm, the officials said.

S K Pathak, Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety, had on Saturday approved the commencement of passenger operations on this corridor of the Violet Line.

The DMRC said the section will be an extension of the Kashmiri Gate-Escorts Mujesar Violet Line.

After the inauguration of this elevated section, which has two stations -- Sant Surdas (Sihi) and Raja Nahar Singh, the Violet Line span has become 46.6 km and the total length of the Delhi Metro network now stands at 317 km.

Currently, 25.8 km of metro lines are operational across Haryana. After the opening of this section, the total length of the network in the state has become 29 km. All trains running on this section have been manufactured in India, according to the DMRC.

The Escorts MujesarRaja Nahar Sigh (Ballabhgarh) section will be extremely crucial from the point of view of connectivity for the city of Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, South-East Delhi and Central Delhi areas.

Ballabhgarh is an upcoming urban settlement which is an industrial city. Large numbers of people travel everyday for their professional requirements from Ballabhgarh to Delhi and vice-versa.

The Raja Nahar Singh Metro station of this section will be integrated with the Ballabhgarh Railway station and the interstate bus terminal of Ballabhgarh directly with a foot over-bridge, which is currently under-construction, officials said.

"A peak hour frequency of six minutes and 48 seconds will be maintained on this section between Badarpur and Raja Nahar Singh on weekdays," the DMRC said.

All trains, which till now were operating till Escorts Mujesar, will go up to Raja Nahar Singh. A total of 40 trains will be operational on the entire Kashmiri Gate Raja Nahar Singh corridor, the DMRC said.