The
idea for a Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) to solve the transport
problem came in the Indian minds in 1949, but that was that. So when
Kolkata got a metro in 1984, the first in India and fifth in Asia,
everybody was down with disbelief. It was quite natural that the capital
city would soon follow the path. It took hundreds of meetings and
surveys to finally form the Delhi Metro Rail Co-operation (DMRC) on 5th
March 1995. The construction started in 1998 and the first phase was
totally completed in December 2005, three years ahead of schedule, a
sure-shot miracle done by 2007 “Indian of the Year” Mr. E.
Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro.Time and Frequency
With meticulous planning, every detail has been taken care of. Frequency of the trains during different times of the day or hundreds of close circuit cameras monitoring the security tell about the effort behind it. Open from 6a.m. to about 10 p.m., each train several coaches with the ability to accommodate around 240 sitting and 400 standing passengers.
Railing Delhi
There are four phases in all and the total length covered by the metro in Phase – I & II is around 193.2 kilometers. Metro Rail in Delhi is a combination of underground and elevated tracks and the trains typically have a speed of approximately 80 kms / hr. The power is supplied through 25 kV AC overhead catenaries. What’s interesting is that each station has a unique theme and local art college students have pitched in with designing the decorative murals in some stations. New Delhi Metro Rail has also come out with special feeder buses and with electronic ticketing.
Color Coding of RoutesThe metro routes are divided by color coding to facilitate recognition. The Red-Line starts from Shahdara in East Delhi and ends in Rithala, North-West Delhi. The Yellow Line connects Vishwa-Vidyalaya and Central Secretariat and the Blue Line joins Indraprastha near Pragati Maidan to Dwarka Sub City. The trains have automated announcements in both Hindi and English.
The fare for Metro ranges from Rs. 6 till Rs 22 and a 10% discount is given to ‘Smart Card users’, Delhi metro’s version of a bus pass. There are special 1-3 day temporary passes for tourists who plan to explore the city through metro. All Blue-line metro stations harvest rainwater which is stored in specially designed tanks for emergencies.