Opening of Barakhamba Road-Indraprastha Metro line delayed till Sept

New Delhi, May 26 (UNI) Thousands of residents of East Delhi eagerly awaiting the connectivity of the Delhi Metro with the ITO area may have to wait for some more time.

The opening of the 2.9 km Barakhamba Road-Indraprastha section of the Delhi Metro, scheduled for completion next month, has been delayed till September due to the complexities involved in construction of Metro tracks over the Railway line passing through ITO.

''The work was earlier expected to be completed by June but the stretch between Pragati Maidan and the Indraprastha is creating some problems due to complexities involved in construction of a bridge on the Railway line. Hence, construction work on the stretch is likely to take some more time,'' DMRC sources said.

Infact, the primary reason for the delay is the problems related to crossing the Railway line at ITO.

The DMRC plans to build an "extra dose" bridge over the Railway line, built over a 93 M single span without any supporting pier.

''The problems in the construction of the stretch arise from the fact that the Railway crossing being a busy one, almost 300 trains pass through it at any given day. Therefore, construction at the stretch has to be carried out without disrupting the Railway traffic thus enabling construction at a very tardy pace,'' the sources said.

Another problem arises from the fact that while construction, care must be taken to avoid the overhead electricity cables built by the Indian Railways' near ITO.

As a result of the construction problems, the opening of the section has been pushed from June to September.

Opening of the section was earlier scheduled for March but pushed further to June due to constrcution of the bridge over the Railway line.

Passing through Mandi House and Pragati Maidan, the Barakhamba Road-Indraprastha section, an extension of the Line 3 of the Delhi Metro would provide Metro access to thousands of people working in and around the busy ITO area. It would also facilitate commutation between the East and the West region of the national capital.

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