Delhi Metro

The Delhi Metro (Hindi: दिल्ली मेट्रो Dillī Meṭro) is a rapid transit system

serving Delhi, Gurgaonand Noida in the National Capital Region of India. The network consists of six lines
with a total length of 156 kilometres (97 mi) with 132 stations of which 31 are underground. It has a
combination of elevated, at-grade and underground lines and uses both broad gauge andstandard
gauge rolling stock.
Delhi Metro is being built and operated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC). As of April
2010, DMRC operates around 130 trains daily between 6:00 and 23:00 running with an interval of 3 to 4.5
minutes between trains.[7][8] The trains have four coaches[6] but there are plans to shift to six coach trains
to increase capacity.[9][10] The power output is supplied by 25-kilovolt, 50 Hertz alternating
current through overhead catenary. The metro has an average daily ridership of 1.4 million commuters, [3]
[4]
 and, as of August 2010, had carried over 1.25 billion commuters since its inception. [11]
Planning for the metro started in 1984, when the Delhi Development Authority and the Urban Arts
Commission came up with a proposal for developing a multi-modal transport system for the city.
The Government of India and the Government of Delhi jointly set up the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) in 1995. Construction started in 1998, and the first section, on the Red Line, opened in 2002,
followed by the Yellow Line in 2004, the Blue Line in 2005, its branch line in 2009, the Green and Violet
Lines in 2010. Subsequently, these lines have been extended and new lines are under construction in
Phase II of the project, including the Delhi Airport Metro Express whose opening has been postponed
until October 2010 due to safety concerns

History
Background
The concept of a mass rapid transit for Delhi first emerged from a traffic and travel characteristics study
carried out in the city in 1969.[13]Over the next several years, many official committees by a variety of
government departments were commissioned to examine issues related to technology, route alignment
and governmental jurisdiction.[14] In 1984, the Delhi Development Authority and the Urban Arts
Commission came up with a proposal for developing a multi-modal transport system, which would consist
of constructing three underground mass rapid transit corridors as well augmenting the city's
existing suburban railway and road transport networks.[15]
While extensive technical studies and search for financing the project were in progress, the city expanded
significantly resulting in a twofold rise in population and a fivefold rise in the number of vehicles between
1981 and 1998.[15] Consequently, traffic congestion and pollution soared, as an increasing number of
commuters took to private vehicles with the existing bus system unable to bear the load. [13] An attempt at
privatising the bus transport system in 1992 merely compounded the problem, with inexperienced
operators plying poorly maintained, noisy and polluting buses on lengthy routes, resulting in long waiting
times, unreliable service, extreme overcrowding, unqualified drivers, speeding and reckless driving. [16] To
rectify the situation, the Government of India and the Government of Delhi jointly set up a company called
the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on March 5, 1995 with E. Sreedharan as the managing director.
[17]

Construction
Physical construction work on the Delhi Metro started on October 1, 1998. [18] After the previous problems
experienced by the Calcutta Metro, which was badly delayed and 12 times over budget due to "political
meddling, technical problems and bureaucratic delays", the DMRC was given full powers to hire people,
decide on tenders and control funds.[19] As a result, construction proceeded smoothly, except from one
major disagreement in 2000, where the Ministry of Railways forced the system to use broad
gauge despite the DMRC's preference forstandard gauge.[20]
The first line of the Delhi Metro was inaugurated by Atal Behari Vajpayee, the then Prime Minister of
India on December 24, 2002[5] and thus it became the second underground rapid transit system in India,
after the Kolkata Metro. The first phase of the project was completed in 2006 [21] on budget and almost
three years ahead of schedule, an achievement described by BusinessWeek as "nothing short of a
miracle".

Network
The Delhi Metro is being built in phases. Phase I completed 65.11 km (40.46 mi) of route length, of which
13.01 km (8.08 mi) is underground and 52.10 km (32.37 mi) surface or elevated. The inauguration of
the Indraprastha–Barakhamba Road corridor of the Blue Line marked the completion of Phase I on
October 27, 2006.[21] Phase II of the network comprises 128 km (80 mi) of route length and 79 stations,
and is presently under construction, with the first section opened in June 2008 and a target completion
date of 2010.[23] Phases III (112 km) and IV (108.5 km) are planned to be completed by 2015 and 2021
respectively, with the network spanning 413 km (257 mi) by then.[24]
Current routes
As of October 3, 2010, the whole of Phase-I and parts of Phase-II are complete, with the network
comprising five lines with 130 metro stations and a total length of 153.1 km (95.1 mi).[25][26]
Length Rolling
Line First operational Last Extension Stations[25] Terminals
(km)[25] stock
December 24,
     Red Line June 4, 2008 21 25.1 Dilshad Garden Rithala 23 trains[27]
2002
     Yellow December 20, September 3, HUDA City 40 trains[8]
34 45 Jahangirpuri [27]
Line 2004 2010 Centre
December 31, October 30, Noida City Dwarka Sector
44 50 58 trains[2]
     Blue Line 2005 2010 Centre 21 [28]

January 7, 2010 — 6 6.25 Yamuna Bank Anand Vihar

     Green
April 3, 2010 — 14 15.1 Inderlok Mundka 13 trains[29]
Line
     Violet Central
October 3, 2010 — 13 15 Sarita Vihar 29 trains[30]
Line Secretariat

Red Line
The Red Line was the first line of the Metro to be opened and connects Rithala in the west to Dilshad
Garden in the east, covering a distance of 25.09 kilometres (15.59 mi).[27] It is partly elevated and partly at
grade, and crosses the Yamuna River between Kashmere Gate andShastri Park stations.[31] The
inauguration of the first stretch between Shahdara and Tis Hazari on December 24, 2002, caused the
ticketing system to collapse due to the line being crowded to four times its capacity by citizens eager to
have a ride.[32][33] Subsequent sections were inaugurated from Tis Hazari – Trinagar (later
renamed Inderlok) on October 4, 2003,] Inderlok – Rithala on March 31, 2004, and Shahdara – Dilshad
Garden on June 4, 2008.

Yellow Line
The Yellow Line was the second line of the Metro and was the first underground line to be opened. [36] It
runs for 44.36 kilometres (27.56 mi) from north to south and connects Jahangirpuri with HUDA City
Centre. The northern and southern parts of the line are elevated, while the central section through some
of the most congested parts of Delhi is underground. The first section between Vishwa
Vidyalaya andKashmere Gate opened on December 20, 2004, and the subsequent sections of Kashmere
Gate – Central Secretariat opened on July 3, 2005, and Vishwa Vidyalaya – Jahangirpuri on February 4,
2009.[35] This line also possesses the country's deepest Metro station at Chawri Bazaar, situated
30 metres (98 ft) below ground level.[37][38] On 21 June 2010, an additional stretch from Qutub Minar to
HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon was opened, initially operating separately from the main line.
However, Chhatarpur station on this line opened on August 26, 2010. Due to delay in acquiring the land
for constructing the station, it was constructed using pre-fabricated structures in a record time of nine
months and is the only station in the Delhi metro network to be made completely of steel. [39][40] The
connecting link between Central Secretariat and Qutub Minar opened on September 3, 2010.
[41]
 Interchanges are available with the Red Line at Kashmere Gate station, and with the Indian
Railways network at Delhi and New Delhi railway stations.

Blue Line
The Blue Line was the third line of the Metro to be opened, and the first to connect areas outside Delhi.
Partly overhead and partly underground,[45] it connects Dwarka Sub City in the west with the satellite city
of Noida in the east, covering a distance of 47.4 kilometres (29.5 mi).[44] The first section of this line
between Dwarka and Barakhamba Road was inaugurated on December 31, 2005, and subsequent
sections opened between Dwarka – Dwarka Sector 9 on April 1, 2006, Barakhamba Road
– Indraprastha on November 11, 2006, Indraprastha – Yamuna Bank on May 10, 2009, Yamuna Bank
– Noida City Centre on November 12, 2009, and Dwarka Sector 9 - Dwarka Sector 21 on October 30,
2010.[35] This line crosses the Yamuna River between Indraprastha and Yamuna Bank stations, and has
India's firstextradosed bridge across the Northern Railways mainlines near Pragati Maidan. A branch of
the Blue line, inaugurated on January 8, 2010, takes off from Yamuna Bank station and runs for
6.25 kilometres (3.88 mi) up to Anand Vihar in east Delhi. A small stretch of 2.76 kilometres (1.71 mi)
from Dwarka Sector 9 to Dwarka Sector 21 was inaugurated on October 30, 2010.[ Interchanges are
available with the Yellow Line at Rajiv Chowk station, and with the Indian Railways network at the Anand
Vihar Railway Terminal.

Green Line
Opened in 2010, the Green Line was the first standard-gauge corridor of the Delhi Metro. [29] The fully
elevated line connects Mundka withInderlok, running for 15.1 kilometres (9.4 mi) mostly along Rohtak
Road.[48] An interchange with the Red line is available at Inderlok station via an integrated concourse. This
line also has the country's first standard-gauge maintenance depot at Mundka. [50]
Violet Line
The Violet Line is the most recent line of the Metro to be opened, and the second standard-gauge corridor
after the Green Line. The 15 km (9.3 mi) long line connects Sarita Vihar to Central Secretariat, with 9 km
(5.6 mi) being overhead and the rest underground.It was inaugurated on October 3, 2010, just hours
before the inaugural ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and connects the Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium which is the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the event. Completed in just 41
months, it includes a 100 m (330 ft) long bridge over the Indian Railways mainlines and a 167.5 m (550 ft)
long cable-stayed bridge across an operational road flyover, and connects several several hospitals,
tourist attractions and a major industrial estate along its route. Services are provided at intervals of 2 min
40 sec, the shortest on the network. An interchange with the Yellow Line is available at Central
Secretariat through an integrated concourse.
Planned extensions
Several extensions to the Delhi Metro network have been planned.
Phase III
Phase III, tentatively composed of six routes covering 69.57 kilometres (43.23 mi), has a 2015 deadline.
The following routes have received Cabinet clearance and are expected to commence construction by the
end of 2010

 Central Secretariat to Red Fort (6.8 km)

 Rajouri Garden to Mukundupur (12.4 km)
 Jahangirpuri to Badali (3.4 km)
Three lines are still pending approval
 Anand Vihar to Dhaula Kuan (25.66 km)
 Malviya Nagar to Kalindi Kunj (11.64 km)
 Ashok Park to Delhi Gate (9.64 km)
In addition, a 13.8 km (8.6 mi) long extension of the Violet Line from Badarpur into Faridabad in
neighbouring Haryana at a cost of  2,533 crore (US$ 574.99 million) has received budgetary and other
clearances, and construction is set to begin in October 2010.
Phase IV
Phase IV has a 2020 deadline, and tentatively includes further extensions to Sonia Vihar, Reola Khanpur,
Palam, Najafgarh, Ghazipur, Noida Sector 62, Gurgaon and Faridabad, having a total length of 108.5 km
(67.4 mi). Apart from these lines in Phases I to IV, plans have been mooted to construct a new line from
Noida Sector 62 to Greater Noida which will intersect Indraprastha – Noida Sector 32 line. The Ghaziabad
Development Authority is planning to extend Delhi Metro lines deeper into Ghaziabad in three phases,
including the extension of the Blue Line from Anand Vihar to Vaishali, and subsequently to Mehrauli
via Indirapuram, as well as the extension of the Red Line from Dilshad Garden to the new Ghaziabad bus
stand. The independently operated Gurgaon Metro, if built, will also interchange with the Delhi Metro.
Finances
Funding
The capital cost of Phases I and II has been estimated to be  14,430 crore (US$ 3.28 billion) at 2004
prices. However, more recent estimates have placed the cost of construction at  200 crore (US$ 45.4
million) per kilometre. Thirty percent of the total investment for Phases I and II has been raised
through equity capital with the Government of India (GoI) and Government of Delhi contributing equal
shares,[59] and approximately another 60 percent has been raised as either long-term or subordinate debt,
through soft loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.[61] The rest of the investment is
proposed to be recovered from internal revenues through operations and property development.The
Metro also received  1,914.3 crore (US$ 434.5 million) as grant-in-aid from various agencies for the
financial year ending March 2009. As of August 7, 2010, Delhi Metro has paid back an amount of  567.63
crore (US$ 128.85 million), which includes loan amount for Phase I and interest amounts for Phases I and
II, to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Revenue and profits

In 2007, the Delhi Metro claimed to be one of only five metro systems in the world that operated at a profit
without government subsidies. This was enabled by keeping maintenance costs to a minimum and
harnessing additional revenue from advertisements and property development, apart from ticket sales.
The Metro also generates revenue by leasing out its trains and stations for film shoots. Due to its
increasing association with Delhi as an image of the city's everyday life, it has been a popular filming
location for production houses, and several films and advertisements have been shot on boardProducers
have to pay as much as  1 lakh (US$ 2,270) for every hour of filming, besides a security deposit and
insurance.[
For the financial year ended March 2008, the Metro reported operating revenues of  305.27 crore
(US$ 69.3 million) and a profit before tax of  19.98 crore (US$ 4.54 million), which rose to  723.77 crore
(US$ 164.3 million) and  90.43 crore (US$ 20.5 million) respectively for the financial year ended March
2009.

Operations
Trains operate at a frequency of 3 to 4.5 minutes between 6:00 and 23:00. Trains operating within the
network typically travel at speeds below 80 km/h (50 mph), and stop about 20 seconds at each station.
Automated station announcements are recorded in Hindi and English. Many stations have services such
as ATMs, food outlets, cafés and convenience stores. Eating, drinking, smoking, and chewing of gum are
prohibited in the entire system. The Metro also has a sophisticated fire alarm system for advance warning
in emergencies, and fire retardant material is used in trains as well as on the premises of stations.
[69]
 Navigation information is available onGoogle Transit. The first coach in each train is reserved for
women and Delhi Metro is the second contemporary rapid transit system in the world to do so after
the Dubai Metro.

Security
Security on the Delhi Metro is handled by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), who have been
guarding the system ever since they took over from the Delhi Police in 2007.[  Closed-circuit cameras are
used to monitor trains and stations, and feed from these is monitored by both the CISF and Delhi Metro
authorities at their respective control rooms.[73] Over 3500 CISF personnel have been deployed to deal
with law and order issues in the system, in addition to metal detectors, X-ray baggage inspection systems
and dog squads which are used to secure the system.[74] Intercoms are provided in each train car for
emergency communication between the passengers and the driver. [75] Periodic security drills are carried
out at stations and on trains to ensure preparedness of security agencies in emergency situations. [76]
Ticketing
For the convenience of customers, Delhi Metro commuters have three choices for ticket purchase.
The RFID tokens are valid only for a single journey on the day of purchase and the value depends on the
distance travelled, with fares for a single journey ranging from  8 (US$ 0.18) to  30 (US$ 0.68). Fares are
calculated based on the origin and destination stations using a fare chart. [77] A common ticketing facility
for commuters travelling on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and the Metro will be introduced in
2011.[78] Travel cards are available for longer durations and are most convenient for frequent commuters.
They are valid for one year from the date of purchase or the date of last recharge, and are available in
denominations of  50 (US$ 1.14) to  800 (US$ 18.2). A 10% discount is given on all travel made on it.
[79]
 A deposit of  50 (US$ 1.14) needs to be made to buy a new card.[77] Tourist cards can be used for
unlimited travel on the Delhi Metro network over short periods of time. There are two kinds of tourist cards
valid for one and three days respectively. The cost of a one-day card is  100 (US$ 2.3) and that of a
three-day card is  250 (US$ 5.7), besides a refundable deposit of  50 (US$ 1.14) that must be paid at the
time of purchasing the card.[77]

Environment and aesthetics

The Delhi Metro has won awards for environmentally friendly practices from organisations including
the United Nations, RINA, and the International Organization for Standardization,[110] becoming the
second metro in the world, after the New York City Subway, to be ISO 14001 certified for environmentally
friendly construction.[  Most of the Metro stations on the Blue Line conduct rainwater harvesting as an
environmental protection measure. It is also the first railway project in the world to earn carbon
credits after being registered with the United Nations under the Clean Development Mechanism, and has
so far earned 400,000 carbon credits by saving energy through the use of regenerative braking systems
on its trains.
The Metro has been promoted as an integral part of community infrastructure, and community artwork
depicting the local way of life has been put on display at stations. Students of local art colleges have also
designed decorative murals at Metro stations, while pillars of the viaduct on some elevated sections have
been decorated with mosaic murals created by local schoolchildren. The Metro station at INA Colony has
a gallery showcasing artwork and handicrafts from across India, while all stations on the Central
Secretariat – Qutub Minar section of the Yellow Line have panels installed on the monumental
architectural heritage of Delhi.