Residents of Gurgaon can hope to board a Metro train to reach Qutab Minar from June 15, with the commissioner of metro rail safety scheduled to inspect the Gurgaon-Qutab Minar line on Wednesday and Thursday for his mandatory clearance.
Gurgaon has been waiting long for an effective transport mode to and from Delhi, and the Metro’s launch is likely to ease some pressure on road traffic.
Delhi government sources said commissioner of metro rail safety R.K. Kardam had agreed to inspect the line on June 9 and 10, after which he will give the mandatory no-objection certificate, and after this DMRC can open the line anytime. It is likely that services will be started from June 15, sources said.
The DMRC had earlier planned to inaugurate the entire Central Secretariat-Gurgaon stretch in one go, but now the 27-km corridor will be thrown open in two phases.
Gurgaon will become the second satellite city in the national capital region to get Metro connectivity. The Metro reached Noida in November 2009.
Trial runs on the Gurgaon HUDA City Centre-Qutab Minar section have been successfully completed. The 13-km Qutab Minar-Central Secretariat line is likely to open by mid-July. Once the entire 27-km stretch — to be integrated with the existing Line 2 (Jehangirpuri-Central Secretariat) — is operational, passengers can hope to reach Gurgaon in an hour from Connaught Place.
Vehicle parking for the commuters on the Central Secretariat-Gurgaon line will be provided at HUDA City Centre, IIFCO Chowk, Sikanderpur, Guru Dronacharya station, M.G. Road, Chattarpur, Sultanpur, Arjangarh, Ghittorni, and Green Park Metro stations.
After this, DMRC will have two more lines to complete before the Commonwealth Games — Central Secretariat-Badarpur and New Delhi-Airport Express Line.
The Qutab Minar Metro station has been modelled with the heritage monument in mind: Dholpur stone-cladding has been done on the station’s exterior to give it a facade similar to the Qutab Minar. — PTI