New Delhi: Gurgaon will be closer to Delhi from Monday when a Metro train will chug into the satellite city, fulfilling its residents' long awaited desire for an effective transport link to the national capital.
The 14.47 km-long line, connecting Qutub Minar with HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon, will be thrown open to the public from 8 am on Monday. It got clearance by Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety R K Kardam last week.
DMRC sources said no formal function will be held because the trial runs on this section were launched with much fanfare by Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
They said a formal function is likely to be held when the remaining section - Qutub Minar-Central Secretariat - of the corridor is inaugurated in July.
Revenue train services will commence simultaneously from Qutub Minar and HUDA City Centre stations at 8 am.
With this, Gurgaon will become the second satellite city to get Metro connectivity after Noida, where it reached last November.
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is planning to run connecting bus services from Qutub Minar Metro station to Central Secretariat Metro station from 6.15 am to 11.45 pm.
Once the entire section (HUDA City Centre-Central Secretariat) becomes operational, passengers can hope to reach the millennium city in around an hour from Connaught Place.
DMRC will initially put five trains on the 14.47-km corridor that will connect Gurgaon with south Delhi, which will run at a frequency of 12 minutes, a DMRC spokesman said, adding that the number of trains will be increased gradually.
Passengers can cover the entire distance in around 25 minutes by paying a ticket fare of Rs 18, while the minimum ticket rate is priced at Rs 8.
Over 100 Customer Facilitation Agents are likely to be deployed as a special measure at all the stations to help them use AFC Gates, lifts and escalators and guide them at platforms and circulating area of the station.
Besides this, special Customer Care Centres will be set up at all stations of this line for passenger convenience.
The mood is already jubilant in the satellite city with people deciding to commute through metro to reach Delhi.
Shweta, who works in an IT firm in south Delhi, says she will not take her car to office from tomorrow. "I have decided not to take my car from tomorrow since metro connectivity will be there. I don't want to get stuck in traffic," she says.
The Metro line has 10 stations and trains will not stop at the Chhattarpur Metro station initially as this station is likely to be opened for the public by August.
The construction of Chhattarpur station was delayed as the land for building the station was not available with DMRC till October last year. Now, the DMRC is constructing the station in record time using pre-fabricated steel structures, the spokesman said.
The remaining part of the corridor from Qutub Minar to Central Secretariat is expected to be open by the end of July.
Ultimately, the line will be integrated with the existing Line 2 (Jehangirpuri-Central Secretariat). The Central Secretariat-HUDA City Centre line, built at a total cost of Rs 3,720 crore, is expected to add over 3.4 lakh people to the Metro system by 2011.
After the Gurgaon line, DMRC will have only two lines to complete before the Commonwealth Games in October. They are Central Secretariat-Badarpur and New Delhi-Airport Express Line.
Vehicle parking for the commuters on the Central Secretariat-Gurgaon line will be provided at the HUDA City Centre, IIFCO Chowk, Sikanderpur, Guru Dronacharya station, MG Road, Chattarpur, Sultanpur, Arjangarh, Ghittorni, and Green Park Metro stations.