FARIDABAD: The fast expanding Metro rail network of the national Capital Region of Delhi was on Sunday extended to the satellite town of Faridabad with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the 14-km line from Badarpur on the outskirts of south Delhi.
The new train service is expected to benefit around two lakh commuters from Haryana's industrial hub daily, according to the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC).
The Delhi-Faridabad line opens to the public at 4 pm Sunday.
The new DMRC line is an extension of the ITO-Badarpur corridor from Badarpur. The elevated tracks of the newly-inaugurated section will pass through nine stations - Sarai, NHPC Chowk, Mewala Maharajpur, Sector 28, Badkal Mor, Old Faridabad, Neelam Chowk Ajronda, Bata Chowk and Escorts Mujesar.
Modi boarded the Metro at the Violet Line’s (line 6) Janpath station near Connaught Place at around 10 am, accompanied by DMRC chief Mangu Singh, to reach the venue of inauguration in Faridabad, instead of taking a chopper as planned earlier.
The Delhi (Badarpur)-Faridabad (Escorts Mujesar) Metro corridor is equipped with solar power generation facilities in all stations and depots.
On Delhi side, the ITO-Badarpur-Faridabad (Escorts Mujesar in Haryana) Line 6 will later be extended to start from Kashmere Gate, a total length of 43.4 km. It
will then have 32 stations. The five interchange stations will be Kashmere Gate, Mandi House, Central Secretariat, Lajpat Nagar and Kalkaji Mandir.
At the Faridabad end, two more stations - NCB Colony and
Ballabgarh - will be added by 2017, Metro officials said.
Speaking after inaugurating the Badarpur-Faridabad Metro Line at Faridabad, Prime Minister declared that the respect for armed forces veterans and those who laid down their lives for the nation is paramount for the country. Recalling his promise of delivering One-Rank, One-Pension for the armed forces personnel, the Prime Minister said the Union Government had fulfilled this
promise. He said that the cost of implementing this promise would be around Rs. 8000 crore to Rs. 10,000 crore, which was significantly higher than some estimates that had been made earlier.
The Prime Minister said that a significant proportion of army jawans were from Haryana, and therefore, the announcement of OROP would contribute significantly to Haryana's economy.
Modi travelled from Delhi to Faridabad and back by metro. On the Metro, he interacted with several passengers.
