The Magenta Line is a metro rail line of the Delhi Metro, a rapid transit system in Delhi, India and the first driverless metro in India. It consists of 25 metro stations from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden, out of which 10 are elevated and rest 15 are underground. The total length of the line is 38.235 km out of which 14.428 km is elevated and 23.807 km is underground. Unlike the Airport Metro Express, this line will directly serve Terminal 1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The line has been operational between Botanical Garden to Kalkaji Mandir since 25 December 2017 and rest of the section between Janakpuri West and Kalkaji Mandir was made operational on 29 May 2018. The Hauz Khas station on this line and the current Yellow Line is the deepest Metro station at a depth of 32 metres. Janakpuri West metro stationon the line contains India's tallest escalator with vertical height of 15.6 metres. The Magenta Line has interchanges with the Yellow Line at Hauz Khas, Blue Line at Janakpuri West & Botanical Garden and the Violet Line at Kalkaji Mandir of the Delhi Metro network. Shankar Vihar metro station on the line is unique as it is the only station on the network where free movement of civilians is restricted by the military, as it falls in the Delhi Cantonment area and according to DMRC official "located right in the heart of the defence zone, it thus will cater primarily to defence personnel". For the first time in India, the construction work of two parallel tunnels was completed together at Dabri Mor station. The Janakpuri West, Dabri Mor & Dashrath Puri stations on Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden line have been executed by an HCC-Samsung joint venture.
History
The line was initially targeted for completion in December 2016, however, this date was extended due to difficult tunnelling conditions. The trials of the line began in August 2017. The line got inaugurated in two stages where the first section from Botanical Garden to Kalkaji Mandir was opened for public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 December 2017 and the second stage got inaugurated by Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal on 28 May 2018. The remaining section of the line became functional and opened for public use from 29 May 2018 at 06:00 hrs IST.
Extension History
A stretch of 8.679 km having 9 stations from Botanical Garden-Kalkaji Mandir was opened to public on 25 December 2017. The remaining portion of line opened on 28 May 2018.
Phase 4
In addition to the Kalindi Kunj, the Magenta Line will have a new depot at Mangolpuri. Under this phase, the line will be further extended from Janakpuri West to RK Ashram, providing an interchange for Blue Line and improving connectivity in the northern parts of Delhi. Work is slated to begin in 2019 and has a deadline of 2023-24.
