Budget 2024: Rs 7,500 cr Delhi Metro corridor linking Haryana, UP on cards

The project is estimated to cost Rs 7,500 crore and will extend from Rithala in Delhi to Kundli in Haryana, which is the sixth corridor of the phase IV project

At the upcoming interim budget presentation on February 1, the Centre is likely to announce Delhi Metro’s new corridor project to connect Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, Moneycontrol reported on Thursday.

The report added that the project is estimated to cost Rs 7,500 crore and will extend from Rithala in Delhi to Kundli in Haryana. “The detailed project report (DPR) has been submitted. The approval is in the final stages,” the official told Moneycontrol.

This project will be the sixth and final corridor of Delhi Metro’s phase IV project.

According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), phase IV has five more corridors. These are Janakpuri West to R.K Ashram, Tughlakabad to Delhi Aerocity, and Majlis Park to Maujpur, which are under implementation. The other two corridors are Inderlok - Indraprastha and Lajpat Nagar to Saket G Block.

First section of phase IV to open in July

The work on Delhi Metro Phase IV began in December 2019 but was hit due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

ALSO READ: Budget 2024 expectations: What stance will interim Budget 2024 adopt?

In November, the DMRC chief Vikas Kumar said that the first section of the phase IV corridor is expected to open by July 2024. Kumar also said that besides the commissioning of a small 2.5-3 km segment of the Janakpuri West-R K Ashram Marg corridor, the whole Majlis Park-Maujpur corridor is planned to be opened by March 2025.

Delhi Metro completes 21 years

Notably, on December 24, the Delhi Metro completed 21 years of operation since its inception in the early 2000s. In 2002, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the first stretch of the metro from Shahdara to Tis Hazari on the Red Line.

With a stretch ranging only 8.4 kilometres across six stations at the beginning, today, Delhi Metro’s network has expanded across 288 stations with a 393 km stretch.

ALSO READ: Budget 2024: Who was first woman to present Budget? Know interesting facts

The public transport body recorded 7 million passenger journeys on September 4 last year, the highest ever for the mass transit system.

(With agency inputs)