Naidu flags off Delhi Metro Heritage line, route open for public from today

The stations have been designed in accordance with the heritage of the area to provide glimpses of its rich past.

Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off the much awaited Heritage Line of Delhi metro through video conferencing at Metro Bhawan in Delhi on Sunday. The line, which was made open to public will connect some of the famous monuments of Old Delhi and bring several other areas of the walled city within walkable distance of residents.

The Heritage Line

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.

Old Delhi tour

The heritage corridor will connect the Old Delhi areas with the business hub of Delhi at Janpath. Each station have been designed in accordance with the heritage of the area to provide glimpses of its rich past and its significance. Daryaganj, Jama Masjid, St. Stephen's Church and Begum Samru's Palace will all be accessible through the Metro, thanks to the heritage line.

Kashmere Gate

Kashmere Gate will emerge as the biggest interchange station, as passengers travelling on Rithala-Dilshad Garden, Samaipur Badli-HUDA City Center and Faridabad line can change from here. As a result, Rajeev Chowk, which caters to over 5 lakh commuters every day, will also be decongested. and the DMRC is expecting to reduce the footfall here to 3.5 lakh.

Eases traffic congession

The new line, which is essentially an extension of the Violet Line that runs between Faridabad and ITO presently, will take considerable load off the Chandni Chowk and Chawri Bazar stations of Yellow Line. The 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.

Trial runs of trains had begun last August

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. As the line passes near several historical monuments, it took a lot of effort by the DMRC to convince the National Monuments Authority to approve the project, which it finally did in February 2013.

Photo credit: Delhi metro rail twitter @DelhiMetro_Rail ‏

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