NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro railway will remain the Central
Government's priority even in the face of a general resource crunch and
increasing expenditure on account of funding other metros, said Union
Urban Development Secretary M. Ramachandran here on Monday.
Speaking at the 16th Foundation Day of Delhi Metro, Mr. Ramachandran
added: “Despite the resource crunch due to upcoming metro projects in
other cities, completion of Delhi Metro projects has been the
Government's priority.”
Mr. Ramachandran, who is also the Chairman of Delhi Metro, said that
with the completion of the ongoing Phase II constructions the Delhi
Metro would become the only one in the world to have successfully
covered 125 km in four-and-a-half years.
He described Delhi Metro's achievements as unparalleled and praised
it for completing works in time and within the allotted budget.
Referring to its growing reach, he said in the next few months, ahead of
the Commonwealth Games, Delhi will get an additional another 75 km of
metro network.
Maximum benefit
Mr. Ramachandran said though the metro has already added 110.49 km to
its network in recent years, the system will be of maximum benefit to
citizens when every part of the city is connected to the metro network.
Referring to Phase III of the network, he said the Government had
received proposals for the next phase. He pointed out that with the
expenses of the next phase likely to be huge, the Government is
currently examining the process of garnering resources for the project
that is expected to cover another 84 km.
Director (Electrical) Satish Kumar said Delhi Metro's financial
growth was 31 per cent in the previous fiscal and by January 2011 the
network is expected to add another 200 trains to its existing fleet.
He said during the past year the metro added a record 42 km to its
network, which is the highest addition in any single year since its
inception.
He also pointed to the introduction of new technologies in its
services to provide better facilities to commuters. “The successful
inauguration of India's first standard gauge metro corridor from
Inderlok to Mundka is one such achievement which will pave the way for
easier adaptation to new metro technologies in the future as most metro
systems around the world run on standard gauge,” he said.
Annual awards were also presented to 30 employees for their
outstanding contribution to the metro. R. K. Raghav, Group Station
Manager of Central Secretariat and Patel Chowk metro stations, was
declared the “Metro Man” of the year 2009-10. Dilshad Garden station was
adjudged the “Best Metro Station”.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
** Original Artilcle by Smriti Kak Ramachandran
