New Delhi: Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal jointly inaugurated the Heritage Line stretch of Delhi Metro on Sunday.
The Heritage Line has four stations — Kashmere Gate, Dilli Gate, Jama Masjid and Lal Quila. The new line is expected to take considerable load off Chandni Chowk and Chawri Bazar stations of Yellow Line. It is essentially an extension of Violet Line that runs between Faridabad and ITO presently.
The Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) gave the green signal for the formal launch of the 5.17-km-long corridor last Thursday following a two-day inspection early this week.
Residents of the densely-populated area, made up of areas in and around the Mughal seat of power 'Shahjahanabad', will have direct access to commercial centres such as Connaught Place, Janpath, offices in Central Secretariat, and the satellite town of Faridabad.
'Shahjahanabad', with the Red Fort as its crowning glory, was founded by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the mid 17th century.
The three stations of this line, all underground, have been designed in accordance with the heritage of the area to provide glimpses of its rich past and vibrant present.
The DMRC had approached the CMRS, the nodal body that deals with matters pertaining to the safety of rail travel and train operations in the country, for the inspection of the line in March.
The DMRC has also submitted papers to the ISA (Independent Safety Assessor) for safety certification of signalling systems of the section, where trial runs of trains had begun last August.
The CMRS declares any corridor fit for commercial operations after taking several civil and engineering aspects into consideration.
DMRC chief Mangu Singh had said the line was well on course for launch last December but a labour crunch triggered by a ban on construction and demolition activities and demonetisation led to the delay.
(With PTI inputs)
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