Delhi Metro Launches Free WiFi Services On Airport Express Line

The Delhi Metro on Thursday launched free high-speed WiFi services in train coaches on its Airport Express Line, the first such facility in any country in the South Asian region, officials said. The 22.7-km swankiest line on the Delhi Metro network has six stations.

The WiFi facility, with 2 Mbps speed, inside train coaches on the Airport Line was launched by DMRC chief Mangu Singh in a running train on the Airport Express Line.

The DMRC plans to extend the facility to Lines 1-6, officials said. WiFi facility is already available on platforms of the Blue Line and the Airport Express Line, officials said. "At present underground metro train WiFi facility is available in Russia, South Korea and China. This is the first such facility in India and the South Asian region," a senior official said.

Meanwhile, after a long wait, work began on the construction of Delhi Metro's Phase-IV project with a groundbreaking ceremony held at Haider Badli Mor. Piling work began for construction of 10 stations of 28.92-km Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg corridor, they said.

"This corridor is an extension of the Magenta Line and will have a total of 22 stations. The tenders for the remaining stations are also nearing finalisation," Executive Director Corporate Communications, DMRC, Anuj Dayal said.

The civil work on construction of the 10 stations is expected to be completed in 30 months, he said. The stations on this entirely elevated section are Keshopur, Paschim Vihar, Peeragarhi, Mangolpuri, West Enclave, Pushpanjali, Deepali Chowk, Madhuban Chowk, Prashant Vihar and North Pitampura.

The Union Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in March had approved three out of the six corridors of the Delhi Metro's proposed Phase-IV which will further improve connectivity in the national capital.

According to the government, the Mukundpur-Maujpur, R K Ashram-Janakpuri West and Aero City-Tughlakabad corridors were approved by the cabinet.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held next to the Haiderpur Badli Mor station of the Yellow Line in the presence of DMRC chief Mangu Singh and other senior officials of the Delhi Metro.

"A huge office has been set up at Haiderpur Badli Mor station to monitor the construction of the Phase-IV work," Dayal told PTI.

"As part of the first corridor work, three interchange stations -- Peeragarhi (with Green Line), Madhuban Chowk (with Red Line) and Haiderpur Badli Mor (with Yellow Line) -- will come up. In addition, the entire Janakpuri West-R K Ashram Marg corridor will have three more interchange facilities at Majlis Park (Pink Line), Azadpur (with Yellow Line) and R K Ashram Marg (with Blue Line)," Dayal said.

Therefore, the new corridor in total will have six interchange stations.

"The Phase-IV of the Delhi Metro project comprising three corridors covering 61.67 km and today is a landmark day for the DMRC," Dayal said.

"The first phase of construction of the Delhi Metro had started on October 1, 1998 and since then the DMRC has established itself as the most reliable public transportation system in the national capital and its peripheries. During these two decades, the Delhi Metro project has also emerged as one of the fastest executed metro projects anywhere in the world," he said.

The first three phases have interconnected cities in the NCR and helped in reducing traffic congestion and pollution in the city, he added.

The other three proposed corridors of Phase-IV which have not yet been approved by the Union Cabinet are Rithala-Bawana-Narela, Inderlok-Indraprastha and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G Block.