The Delhi Metro is set to cross inter-state border once again with the deadline to connect Ghaziabad with the capital coming closer as the trial runs began on Thursday.
Trials on the three kilometre stretch from Anand Vihar to Vaishali began on Wednesday night. Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan inspected the corridor on Thursday morning and expressed satisfaction over completion of work on the stretch.
The corridor will extend the Dwarka Sec 21-Anand Vihar ISBT line till Vaishali.
With this, Ghaziabad will be the third satellite city in the National Capital Region (NCR) to get connected with Metro after Noida and Gurgaon. Currently, residents of Ghaziabad have to come to Anand Vihar ISBT to take a metro.
Ghaziabad Development Authority officials have said that the line will be opened to public on July 9, but there is no confirmation in this regard from the Delhi Metro.
During the inspection, Dr Sreedharan travelled on the corridor on a Metro train along with other senior officials and inspected the station structures as well as all other vital sections of the corridor.
The Delhi Metro is also preparing necessary documents for the mandatory inspection by the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) and they will be sent shortly.
There are two metro stations on this elevated corridor — Kaushambi and Vaishali.
Dr Sreedharan also inspected the parking lots at Kaushambi and Vaishali stations and said that contracts in this regard would be finalised by the end of this month.
“While the Vaishali station will be able to accommodate approximately 110 cars and 140 two wheelers besides cycles, buses and autos, the Kaushambi station will have space for about 74 cars and 130 two-wheelers,” the DMRC spokesman said.
Though Delhi Metro projects that 40,000 passengers are expected to use the extended stretch once it is operational, the figure is likely to be higher.