New Delhi [India], May 28 (ANI): The 25.6-km-long Janakpuri West - Kalkaji Mandir stretch of the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line was formally inaugurated here on Monday, marking the complete operationalisation of the line, a part of which was inaugurated in December last year.
Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs (Independent Charge) Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off the stretch by waving the green flag from the Janakpuri West Metro station.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Managing Director Mangu Singh was also present on the occasion.
Services for general public will begin from Tuesday (May 29) at 6 am.
Briefing the media, Puri said, "The inauguration of this stretch is a boon for commuters. Delhi Metro has reached a total of 277 km so far and the entire Phase 3 project will be completed by December this year. Upon its completion, the network would expand further to 380 km."
The Janakpuri West - Kalkaji Mandir section, comprising 16 stations, is the longest section opened so far in Delhi Metro's Phase 3, according to DMRC's official statement.
With the opening of this stretch, the entire 38.2-km-long Janakpuri West - Botanical Garden Magenta corridor covering the city's arterial Outer Ring Road has become operational.
On December 25 last year, the 12.64-km-long stretch from Botanical Garden to Kalkaji Mandir was made operational by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The highlights of this corridor are the two new interchange facilities that have come up at Janakpuri West (with the Dwarka Sector 21 - Noida City Centre/ Vaishali Blue Line) and Hauz Khas (with the HUDA City Centre - Samaypur Badli Yellow Line).
A domestic terminal, T1, of the Indira Gandhi International Airport has also got directly connected by the Metro.
Commuters travelling from Gurugram will now be able to change trains at Hauz Khas to reach South Delhi and Noida. Residents of Noida will also get direct connectivity to the domestic terminal of the airport.
The stations on the Janakpuri West-Kalkaji Mandir metro corridor are - Janakpuri West, Dabri Mor, Dashrathpuri, Palam, Sadar Bazar Cantonment, Terminal 1 - IGI Airport, Shankar Vihar, Vasant Vihar, Munirka, R.K. Puram, Hauz Khas, I.I.T., Panchsheel Park, Chirag Delhi, G.K. Enclave and Nehru Enclave.
Out of this, Shankar Vihar and Sadar Bazar Cantonment are the only stations, which are elevated, while the remaining stations on this stretch is underground. (ANI)
This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI