Metro submits project report for Ph IV

NEW DELHI: Even as Delhi Metro rushes to meet deadlines for Phase III, preliminary work on Phase IV has already begun. The detailed project report (DPR) for the next phase of the Metro network has been submitted to the urban development ministry and the Delhi government that had already approved the basic alignments. Phase IV will connect places like Narela, Maujpur, Madangir, Bawana, Barwala, Mukundpur, Najafgarh, Chhawla and Mahipalpur to the rest of the city.
The six new corridors of Phase IV will add around 100km more to the existing network, which is already 190km long, while Phase III will add 140km. After Phase IV, the total Delhi Metro network is expected to span some 400km.
A senior government official said, “Work on Phase IV will start by next year, if all approvals are given by the Delhi government and the Centre by the year-end.” Phase IV is scheduled to be completed by 2021. According to the DPR, 67 new stations will come up on the proposed corridors— Rithala-Narela, Janakpuri west-RK Ashram, Mukundpur-Maujpur, Inderlok-Indraprastha, Tughlaqabad-Aerocity and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block.
The idea is to connect outer Delhi with the heart of the city in the fourth phase, sources said. The official added, “While Phase III will make the Metro network denser by bringing the NCR closer to Delhi, we hope to get to the corners of the city in the fourth phase.” A letter detailing the corridor alignment and length had been sent to the transport department on November 2, 2011. Some of the corridors, like Lajpat Nagar-Saket or Mukundpur-Maujpur, will also connect commercial hubs with areas that have poor road connectivity. The proposed corridors would link the existing routes of phases I, II and III through different routes and will reduce travel time and expense.
Phase IV is expected to benefit nearly 60 lakh people daily and would take the daily ridership to 40 lakh, officials said. The corridors would be opened in sections, much like in the phases already constructed.
“Mukundpur-Maujpur and Janakpuri West-RK Ashram corridors are likely to be taken up first,” added the official. The existing DPR alignments are slightly different from the routes earlier suggested by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. These changes were made after suggestions from Rites.