The Magenta Line of Delhi Metro, which runs between Botanical Garden and Kalkaji Mandir stations, will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi at 1.00 pm on Monday. The ceremony will also be attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s was left out from the list of VIP invitees.
PM Modi will travel by metro from Botanical Garden till Okhla Bird Sanctuary station. Following the inauguration, he will address a public meeting at the Amity University Ground in Noida.
The Magenta Line will reduce travel time and cost, making it easier to commute between Kalkaji in South Delhi and Noida. It will also reduce the traffic pressure on Delhi roads.
The Botanical Garden-Kalkaji Mandir section of the 36.23 km-line will eventually be extended till Janakpuri in West Delhi, which is scheduled to be functional by March 2018.
Delhi Metro Magenta Line inaugration updates:
12.00 am: The new trains are also colourful — with shades of blue, pink and orange on the seats, and a darker colour indicating the reserved seats. Read | Magenta Line shows off bigger coaches, colour-coded seats in Delhi metro
11.30 am: The new Metro line boasts of bigger coaches, LED screens with destination details, as well as USB charging ports. Every station on this line has platform screen doors.
10.40 am: PM Modi also wrote on Twitter, “This new line of the Delhi Metro is yet another example of how we are modernising urban transportation. I will also travel on the Metro tomorrow. This year I have had the opportunity to inaugurate and travel in the Kochi as well as Hyderabad Metro.”
Great news for friends in the NCR! Tomorrow, a stretch of the Delhi Metro’s new Magenta Line will be inaugurated, connecting Botanical Garden in Noida with Kalkaji Mandir in Delhi. Delhi-Noida travelling will become faster and more convenient. https://t.co/Zv785rEM7V
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 24, 2017
10.30 am: Ahead of the inauguration of the Magenta Line, PM Modi on Sunday welcomed the opening of this new line and said that travelling between Delhi and Noida “will become faster and more convenient” now.
10.00 am: Surprisingly enough for many, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was not invited to the event even as both the Delhi government and the Centre are equal partners in the DMRC. An AAP leader said, “The DMRC has not followed protocol — by not inviting the chief minister to the event and by holding the inauguration in Noida. This is without precedent. The Delhi government has an equal stake in the Metro and is a shareholder.”
9.10 am: The Noida Traffic police has issued advisories in view of the scheduled Magenta Line inauguration ceremony and movement of top dignitaries. The road between Botanical Garden bus stand and Attar Chawk will remain blocked during the initial hours of the day. The traffic will be redirected towards Shashi Chawk and through Nithari Hospital. Noida sector 94, 124, 125 and 126 will also be affected as the traffic movement will be restricted in the day.
9.oo am: This Magenta Line is the first to be equipped with a new signalling system — the Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) — that will reduce waiting time from two minutes to 90-100 seconds. One of the advantages of the Magenta Line is that it will reduce the travel time between the two stations (Botanical Garden and Kalkaji Mandir) to 19 minutes from the 52-minute-long journey earlier.