Delhi Metro’s Pink Line – known as the first full “ring” metro line – opened to the public on Sunday with 10 new stations starting operations. However, Soorghat station in north Delhi near Wazirabad is not yet usable. Trains pass through the station without stopping, and announcements inform passengers that the train will not halt there, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
What is the reason?
The reason is simple: the station currently has no operational entry or exit points. Metro officials said that access to the station will be through a subway that is still under construction. Because of this, the station is expected to open for passengers only by the end of the year, the report mentioned.
“The Soorghat Metro Station on the recently inaugurated Majlis Park-Maujpur Babarpur corridor has not yet been opened for passengers. The decision to open the station later has been taken primarily due to the proposed integration of the station structure with a Public Works Department (PWD) subway planned in the same area, as the station’s entry and exit points have been designed through this subway,” HT quoted Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, corporate communications at Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), as saying.
Station linked to flyover and subway project
Dayal explained that the Metro viaduct was planned to connect with a PWD project at two levels — one above ground and one below. The flyover above ground will handle one-way traffic, while the subway below ground will handle traffic coming from the opposite direction.
“The integrated elevated flyover of PWD has already been constructed, and the issue of integration with the PWD subway has also been finalised now. The construction of the subway is now being undertaken by DMRC. The station is expected to be completed and opened for passengers by the end of the year,” he told HT
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated two new metro corridors in Delhi – a 12.3 km stretch from Majlis Park to Maujpur-Babarpur as part of the Pink Line extension, and a 9.9 km stretch from Deepali Chowk to Majlis Park on the Magenta Line.
Delhi Metro network crosses 400 km
With these additions, the total metro network in the NCR under DMRC has crossed 400 kilometres.
The opening of the Majlis Park to Maujpur-Babarpur stretch also completes the Pink Line’s full loop, allowing commuters to travel in a complete circle around Delhi – similar to the city’s ring roads but through the Metro.
During a ride on the Pink Line on Friday from Lajpat Nagar, announcements began at Nanaksar Sonia Vihar – the station before Soorghat – informing passengers that the train would skip the next stop. The display inside the train read: “The train will not stop at Soorghat station. We apologise for the inconvenience caused,” as per the report.
Currently, the Pink Line is the longest line in the Delhi Metro network, stretching over 71.5 km with 46 stations. But for residents living near Soorghat, the metro station they waited for still remains out of reach.