More stations to bring Metro closer to public

While Nehru Place,Dhaula Kuan,Mayur Vihar,Janakpuri,Punjabi Bagh,Okhla and Rohini will get an additional Metro station as part of the Phase III plan,Naraina will get two. “The idea is to bring the Metro within 500 metres of residential colonies and commercial complexes by the time the entire Metro network is completed at the end of Phase IV. Some congested locations — where two stations are seen as a major requirement — have been identified as part of Phase III,” said a DMRC spokesperson.

Nehru Place,which has an existing station on Badarpur corridor,will get another on Ring Road. The new station will be on the upcoming Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden corridor and,owing to its proximity to Chittaranjan Park,Kalkaji and Govindpuri,it is expected to take off a significant part of the passenger load from the existing station.

Officials said a new station has been plotted at the same location because the existing station at Nehru Place — a large commercial area with several residential colonies nearby — could not cater to all the places around it.

Similarly,Dhaula Kuan — where an Airport Metro station is already located — will get another one about 500 metres away from the existing one. While the present station,which is likely to be thrown open by the end of this month,caters to airport-bound commuters,the new one on Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar corridor will have a larger commuter base.

Officials said the catchment area for this station will be educational institutions such as Atma Ram Sanatan Dharam College,Ram Lal Anand,Sri Venkateswara College,Jesus and Mary and Maitreyee College,besides residential areas in Satya Niketan and Taj and Maurya hotels.

Though two stations already exist in Mayur Vihar,another one has been planned on the Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar corridor at Mayur Vihar Phase I to ease pressure on existing stations and bring Metro services closer to Mayur Vihar Extension.

Janakpuri,which also has two stations (Janakpuri East and West),will get yet a third one at Janakpuri C2B. The new station on the Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden corridor will cater to residential areas such as Pankha Road and Mahavir Enclave,and Mata Chanan Devi Hospital.

Okhla,which has an existing station on the Badarpur corridor,will get two new stations at Okhla Vihar and Okhla Phase III on the Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden corridor. This will cater to industrial areas as well as residential belts near Jamia Nagar and Jasola Vihar.

Punjabi Bagh,which will get a new station on the Mundka corridor in a month,will have yet another station on the Mukundpur to Yamuna Vihar corridor to cater to areas such as Punjabi Bagh West and Punjabi Bagh Extension. Rohini will also get a station at Sector 18 on the Jahangirpuri-Badli corridor,adding to the two existing stations at Rohini East and West on the Rithala-Dilshad Garden line.

As for Naraina,two stations (Naraina I and II) have been planned at about a kilometre from each other on the Mukundpur-Yamuna Vihar corridor.