Delhi Metro

The Delhi Metro is a mass rapid transit (MRT) system serving Delhi and its satellite cities of Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Bahadurgarh and Ballabhgarh, in the National Capital Region of India. It is by far the largest and busiest metro rail system in India, and the second oldest after the Kolkata Metro. The network consists of 10 colour-coded lines serving 254 stations with a total length of 348.12 kilometres (216.31 mi). The system has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using both broad-gauge and standard-gauge. Delhi Metro operates over 2,700 trips daily, starting at around 05:00 and ending at 23:30.

Construction started in 1998, and the first elevated section (Shahdara to Tis Hazari) on the Red Line opened on 25 December 2002. The first underground section (Vishwa Vidyalaya – Kashmere Gate) on the Yellow Line opened on 20 December 2004. The development of the network was divided into phases. Phase I with 3 lines was completed by 2006, and Phase II in 2011. As of March 2020, Phase III is in the finishing stage and scheduled to be mostly complete by the end of the year. Construction on Phase IV was formally started on 30 December 2019.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), a company with equal equity participation from the Government of India and the Government of Delhi, built and operates the Delhi Metro. DMRC was certified by the United Nations in 2011 as the first metro rail and rail-based system in the world to get carbon credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing carbon emission levels in the city by 630,000 tonnes every year.

Delhi Metro also interchanges with the Rapid Metro Gurgaon (with a shared ticketing system) and Noida Metro. On 22 October 2019, the DMRC took over the operations of the financially troubled Rapid Metro Gurgaon. Annual ridership of Delhi metro was 1.79 billion in 2019

History

Background

The concept of a mass rapid transit for New Delhi first emerged from a traffic and travel characteristics study which was carried out in the city in 1969. Over the next several years, many official committees by a variety of Government departments were commissioned to examine issues related to technology, route alignment, and Governmental jurisdiction. In 1984, the Urban Arts Commission came up with a proposal for developing a multi-modal transport system, which would consist of constructing three underground mass rapid transit corridors as well augmenting the city’s existing suburban railway and road transport networks.

While extensive technical studies and the raising of finance for the project were in progress, the city expanded significantly resulting in a two-fold rise in population and a five-fold rise in the number of vehicles between 1981 and 1998. Consequently, traffic congestion and pollution soared, as an increasing number of commuters took to private vehicles with the existing bus system unable to bear the load. An attempt at privatizing the bus transport system in 1992 merely compounded the problem with inexperienced operators plying poorly maintained, noisy and polluting buses on lengthy routes, resulting in long waiting times, unreliable service, extreme overcrowding, unqualified drivers, speeding and reckless driving which even led to road accidents. To rectify the situation, the Government of India under Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and the Government of Delhi jointly set up a company called the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on 3 May 1995, with Elattuvalapil Sreedharan as the managing director. Sreedharan handed over the charge as Managing Director of DMRC to Mangu Singh on 31 December 2011.

Initial construction

Physical construction work on the Delhi Metro started on 1 October 1998. After the previous problems experienced by the Kolkata Metro, which was badly delayed and 12 times over budget due to “political meddling, technical problems and bureaucratic delays”, DMRC is a special-purpose organisation vested with great autonomy and powers to execute this gigantic project involving many technical complexities, under a difficult urban environment and within a very limited time frame. DMRC was given full powers to hire people, decide on tenders and control funds. The DMRC then hired the Hong Kong MTRC as a technical consultant on rapid transit operation and construction techniques. As a result, construction proceeded smoothly, except for one major disagreement in 2000, where the Ministry of Railways forced the system to use 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge despite the DMRC’s preference for standard gauge.

The first line of the Delhi Metro, the Red Line, was inaugurated by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the then Prime Minister of India on 24 December 2002. The Delhi Metro became the second underground rapid transit system in India, after the Kolkata Metro, when the Vishwa Vidyalaya–Kashmere Gate section of the Yellow Line opened on 20 December 2004. This underground line was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The first phase of the project was eventually completed in 2006, on budget and almost three years ahead of schedule, an achievement described by Business Week as “nothing short of a miracle”.

Phase I

Phase 1 Network
No.	Line Name	Stations	Length (km)	Terminals		Opening Date
1	Red Line	6	8.3	Shahdara	Tis Hazari	25 December 2002
		4	4.1	Tis Hazari	Trinagar(Now Inderlok)	3 October 2003
		8	8.9	Inderlok	Rithala	31 March 2004
2	Yellow Line	4	4.0	Vishwa Vidyalaya	Kashmere Gate	20 December 2004
		6	6.84	Kashmere Gate	Central Secretariat	3 July 2005
3	Blue Line	22	22.9	Dwarka	Barakhamba Road	31 December 2005
		6	6.5		Dwarka Sector 9	1 April 2006
		3	2.8	Barakhamba Road	Indraprastha	11 November 2006
Total		59	65.0

A total of 65 kilometres (40 mi) long network with 59 stations and the following 3 routes (initial parts of Red, Yellow and Blue lines) were built within the limits of Delhi state, stations progressively started to open from 25 December 2002 to 11 November 2006.

Phase II

A total of 124.90 kilometres (77.61 mi) long network with 86 stations and the following 10 new routes and extensions was built, out of which seven routes are extension spurs of the Phase I network, three were new colour-coded lines and three routes connect to other cities (Yellow Line to Gurgaon, Blue Line to Noida and Blue Line to Ghaziabad) of the national capital region, outside the physical limits of Delhi state, in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. At the end of Phases I and II, the cumulative total length of the network became 189.90 km (118.00 mi) with 151 stations progressively becoming operational from 4 June 2008 to 27 August 2011.

Phase 2 Network
No.	Line Name	Stations	Length (km)	Terminals		Opening Date
1	Red Line	3	3.09	Shahdara	Dilshad Garden	4 June 2008
2	Yellow Line	5	6.36	Vishwa Vidyalaya	Jahangirpuri	4 February 2009
		9	14.5	Huda City Centre	Qutab Minar	21 June 2010
		1		Chhatarpur		26 August 2010
		9	12.53	Qutab Minar	Central Secretariat	3 September 2010
3	Blue Line	1	15.07	Indraprastha	Yamuna Bank	10 May 2009
		10		Yamuna Bank	Noida City Centre	12 November 2009
		2	2.76	Dwarka Sector 9	Dwarka Sector 21	30 October 2010
4	Blue Line Branch	6	6.17	Yamuna Bank	Anand Vihar ISBT	27 January 2010
		2	2.57	Anand Vihar ISBT	Vaishali	14 July 2011
5	Green Line	14	18.46	Inderlok	Mundka	2 April 2010
		2		Ashok Park Main	Kirti Nagar	27 August 2011
6	Violet Line	13	13.6	Central Secretariat	Sarita Vihar	3 October 2010
		3	4.2	Sarita Vihar	Badarpur	14 January 2011
Airport	Orange Line	4	22.70	New Delhi	Dwarka Sector 21	23 February 2011
		2		Dhaula Kuan & Delhi Aerocity		15 August 2011
Total		86	124.90

Phase III

Phase-I (Red, Yellow and Blue lines) and phase-II (Green, Violet and Orange lines) had focused on adding new radial lines to expand the network. To further reduce congestion and improve connectivity, Phase-III included 8 extensions to the existing lines as well as building two ring lines (Pink and Magenta lines) along with the Grey line. It has 28 underground stations, 3 new lines and 7 route extensions, totaling 167.27 km (103.94 mi), with a cost of ₹410.079 billion (US$5.4 billion). The 3 new lines of Phase-III are the Pink Line running on Inner Ring Road (Line 7), the Magenta Line running on Outer Ring Road (Line 8) & the Grey Line connecting Dwarka and Najafgarh (Line 9).

Phase 3 Network
No.	Line	Stations	Length (km)	Terminals		Opening date
1	Red Line	8	9.41	Dilshad Garden	Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda)	9 March 2019
2	Yellow Line	3	4.37	Jahangirpuri	Samaypur Badli	10 November 2015
3	Blue Line	6	6.675	Noida City Centre	Noida Electronic City	9 March 2019
5	Green Line	7	11.182	Mundka	Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh	24 June 2018
6	Violet Line	7	9.37	Central Secretariat	Kashmere Gate	28 May 2017
		9	13.875	Badarpur	Escorts Mujesar	6 September 2015
		2	3.205	Escorts Mujesar	Raja Nahar Singh	19 November 2018
7	Pink Line	12	21.56	Majlis Park	Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus	14 March 2018
		6	8.1	Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus	Lajpat Nagar	6 August 2018
		15	17.8	Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake	Shiv Vihar	31 October 2018
		5	9.7	Lajpat Nagar	Mayur Vihar Pocket I	31 December 2018
		0	0.85	Mayur Vihar Pocket I	Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake	6 August 2021
8	Magenta Line	9	12.64	Kalkaji Mandir	Botanical Garden	25 December 2017
		16	25.26	Janakpuri West	Kalkaji Mandir	29 May 2018
9	Grey Line	3	4.295	Dwarka	Najafgarh	4 October 2019
		1	1.18	Najafgarh	Dhansa Bus Stand	18 September 2021
Airport	Orange Line	1	1.878	Dwarka Sector 21	ECC Centre	(Delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic)
		109	159.95

Work on Phase III started in 2011, with 2016 being the planned deadline. More than 20 tunnel boring machines were used simultaneously to expedite the work; however, the actual work for the original was completed in March 2019 (except for a small stretch due to non-availability of land). Later, certain small extensions to the Delhi Metro were added as part of the Phase–III project, only one of which is still under-construction (Dwarka Sector 21 to ECC Centre). Phase III was expected to be completed by the end of 2020 but construction was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was finally completed on 18th September 2021 with the opening of the Grey Line extension from Najafgarh to Dhansa Bus Stand.

Driverless operations on the 38-km long Magenta line began on 28th December 2021, making it the first driverless metro line of Delhi Metro and India’s first driverless metro. On 25th November 2021, the 59-km long Pink Line also began driverless train operations. With this, the total stretch of DMRC’s network under driverless operations now stands at close to 97 km, putting Delhi Metro at fourth position globally among such networks, marginally behind Kuala Lumpur.

The expected daily ridership of the whole network of all phases, after the completion of Phase-III, was estimated as 53.47 lakh passengers. Against this however, the actual ridership of DMRC was 27.79 lakh only (2019-20), i.e. 51.97 per cent of projected ridership. The actual ridership of the Phase III corridors was 4.38 lakh only as against the projected ridership of 20.89 lakh in 2019-20, which is a deficit of 79.02 per cent. The communication-based train control (CBTC) being used in Phase-III trains enables trains to run at a short headway of 90 seconds, although the actual headway between trains is kept much higher because of the relatively low demand on the new corridors. Keeping the short headway and other constraints in mind, DMRC changed its decision to build 9-car-long stations for new lines and instead opted for shorter stations which can accommodate 6-car trains.

Construction accidents

On 19 October 2008, a launching gantry and a part of the overhead Blue Line extension under construction in Laxmi Nagar, East Delhi, collapsed and fell on passing vehicles underneath. Workers were using a crane to lift a 400-tonne concrete span of the bridge when the gantry collapsed along with a 34-metre-long (112 ft) span of the bridge on top of a Blueline bus, killing the driver and a labourer.

On 12 July 2009, a section of a bridge collapsed while it was being erected at Zamrudpur, near East of Kailash, on the Central Secretariat – Badarpur corridor. Six people died and 15 were injured. The following day, on 13 July 2009, a crane that was removing the debris collapsed, and with a bowling pin effect collapsed two other nearby cranes, injuring six. On 22 July 2009, a worker at Ashok Park Metro station was killed when a steel beam fell on him. Over a hundred people, including 93 workers, have died since work on the metro began in 1998.

On 23 April 2018, five people were injured when an iron girder fell off the elevated section of a Metro rail structure being constructed at the Mohan Nagar intersection in Ghaziabad. A car, an auto rickshaw and a motorbike were also damaged in the accident.

Network

The Delhi Metro is being built in phases. Phase I consisted of 58 stations and 65.0 km (40.4 mi) of route length, of which 13.0 km (8.1 mi) is underground and 52.0 km (32.3 mi) surface or elevated. The inauguration of the Dwarka–Barakhamba Road corridor of the Blue Line marked the completion of Phase I in October 2006. Phase II of the network consists of 124.6 km (77.4 mi) of route length and 85 stations, and is fully completed, with the first section opened in June 2008 and the last line opened in August 2011. Phase-III has 28 underground stations, 2 new lines and 11 route extensions, totaling 167.27 km (103.94 mi), with a cost of ₹410.79 billion (US$5.5 billion) and was mostly completed on 5th April 2019, except for a small section of the Pink Line between the Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stations as well as the Grey Line extension from Najafgarh to Dhansa Bus Stand, which opened on 6th August 2021 and 18th September 2021, respectively. Phase IV project’s routes with 6 lines totaling 103.93 km were finalized in July 2015. Out of this, 61.679 kms across 3 lines (priority corridors) with 45 stations was approved by the Government of India for construction on March 7, 2019. The Silver Line’s length was increased in October 2020, making the entire project 65.1 km long. It is planned to be completed by 2025.

Delhi Metro: present network
Line No.	Line Name	First operational	Last extension	Stations	Length (km)	Terminals		Rolling stock	Track gauge (mm)
1	Red Line	2002-12-24	2019-03-08	29	34.55	Shaheed Sthal	Rithala	33 trains, 197 coaches	1676
2	Yellow Line	2004-12-20	2015-11-10	37	49.02	Samaypur Badli	HUDA City Centre	55 trains, 438 coaches
3	Blue Line	2005-12-31	2019-03-09	50	56.11	Noida Electronic City	Dwarka Sector 21	64 trains, 507 coaches
4		2010-01-07	2011-07-14	8	8.51	Yamuna Bank	Vaishali
5	Green Line	2010-04-03	2018-06-24	23	28.79	Inderlok	Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh	20 trains, 80 coaches	1435
		2011-08-27	–			Ashok Park Main	Kirti Nagar
6	Violet Line	2010-10-03	2018-11-19	34	46.34	Kashmere Gate	Raja Nahar Singh	38 trains, 227 coaches
Airport Express	Orange Line	2011-02-23	–	6	22.91	New Delhi	Dwarka Sector 21	6 trains, 36 coaches
7	Pink Line	2018-03-14	2021-08-06	38	59.24	Majlis Park	Shiv Vihar	42 trains, 251 coaches
8	Magenta Line	2017-12-24	2018-05-29	25	37.46	Botanical Garden	Janakpuri West	25 trains, 152 coaches
9	Grey Line	2019-10-04	2021-09-18	4	5.19	Dwarka	Dhansa Bus Stand	3 trains, 17 coaches
		2002-12-24	2021-09-18	254	348.12			286 trains, 1905 coaches

Lines

Red Line (Line 1)

The Red Line was the first line of the Metro to be opened and connects Rithala in the west to Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda) in the east, covering a distance of 34.69 kilometres (21.56 mi). It is partly elevated and partly at grade and crosses the Yamuna River between Kashmere Gate and Shastri Park stations. The inauguration of the first stretch between Shahdara and Tis Hazari on 24 December 2002 caused the ticketing system to collapse due to the line being crowded to four times its capacity by citizens eager to have a ride. Subsequent sections were inaugurated from Tis Hazari – Trinagar (later renamed Inderlok) on 4 October 2003, Inderlok – Rithala on 31 March 2004, and Shahdara – Dilshad Garden on 4 June 2008. The red line has interchange stations, at Kashmere Gate with the Yellow Line and Violet Line, at Inderlok with the Green Line & at Netaji Subhash Place & Welcome with the Pink Line. In the future the red line will have an interchange with the Blue Line at Mohan Nagar. Beginning 24 November 2013, a total of six-coach trains were eventually commissioned on the Red Line. On 8 March 2019, extension of the line from Dilshad Garden to Shaheed Sthal(New Bus Adda) was opened for public.

Yellow Line (Line 2)

The Yellow Line was the second line of the Metro and was the first underground line to be opened on the Delhi Metro. It runs for 49 kilometres (30 mi) from north to south and connects Samaypur Badli with HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon. The northern and southern parts of the line are elevated, while the central section which passes through some of the most congested parts of Delhi is underground. The first underground section of Delhi Metro between Vishwa Vidyalaya and Kashmere Gate opened on 20 December 2004, and the subsequent sections of Kashmere Gate – Central Secretariat opened on 3 July 2005, and Vishwa Vidyalaya – Jahangirpuri on 4 February 2009. This line also possesses the country’s second deepest Metro station at Chawri Bazar, situated 25 metres (82 ft) below ground level.

On 21 June 2010, an additional stretch from Qutub Minar to HUDA City Centre was opened, initially operating separately from the mainline. However, Chhatarpur station on this line opened on 26 August 2010. Due to delays in acquiring the land for constructing the station, it was constructed using prefabricated structures in a record time of nine months and is the only station in the Delhi Metro network to be made completely of steel. The connecting link between Central Secretariat and Qutub Minar opened on 3 September 2010.

On 10 November 2015, the line was further extended between Jahangirpuri and Samaypur Badli in Outer Delhi. Interchanges are available with the Red Line and Kashmere Gate ISBT at Kashmere Gate, Blue Line at Rajiv Chowk, Violet Line at Kashmere Gate & Central Secretariat, Airport Express (Orange) Line at New Delhi, Pink Line at Azadpur & INA, Magenta Line at Hauz Khas, Rapid Metro Gurgaon at Sikandarpur and with the Indian Railways network at Chandni Chowk and New Delhi.

The Yellow Line is the first line of Delhi Metro which has phased out all four coach trains with six and eight coach configuration. The Metro Museum at Patel Chowk metro station is a collection of display panels, historical photographs and exhibits, tracing the genesis of the Delhi Metro. The museum was opened on 1 January 2009.

Blue Line (Line 3 & Line 4)

The Blue Line was the third line of the Metro to be opened and the first to connect areas outside Delhi. Mainly elevated and partly underground, it connects Dwarka Sub City in the west with the satellite city of Noida in the east, covering a distance of 56.61 kilometres (35.18 mi). The first section of this line between Dwarka and Barakhamba Road was inaugurated on 31 December 2005, and subsequent sections opened between Dwarka – Dwarka Sector 9 on 1 April 2006, Barakhamba Road – Indraprastha on 11 November 2006, Indraprastha – Yamuna Bank on 10 May 2009, Yamuna Bank – Noida City Centre on 12 November 2009, and Dwarka Sector 9 – Dwarka Sector 21 on 30 October 2010. This line crosses the Yamuna River between Indraprastha and Yamuna Bank stations, and has India’s second extradosed bridge across the Northern Railways mainlines near Pragati Maidan.

A branch of the Blue line, inaugurated on 8 January 2010, takes off from Yamuna Bank station and runs for 6.25 kilometres (3.88 mi) up to Anand Vihar in east Delhi. It was further extended up to Vaishali which was opened to the public on 14 July 2011. A small stretch of 2.76 kilometres (1.71 mi) from Dwarka Sector 9 to Dwarka Sector 21 was inaugurated on 30 October 2010. On 9 March 2019, a 6.67 km extension of the line from Noida City Centre to Noida Electronic City was opened for public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Interchanges are available with the Noida Sector 51 station of Aqua Line (Noida Metro) at Noida Sector 52 station, Yellow Line at Rajiv Chowk station, Green Line at Kirti Nagar, Violet Line at Mandi House, Delhi Airport Metro Express (Orange) Line at Dwarka Sector 21, Pink Line at Rajouri Garden, Mayur Vihar Phase-I, Karkarduma & Anand Vihar, Magenta Line at Janakpuri West & Botanical Garden and with the Indian Railways network and Interstate Bus Station (ISBT) at Anand Vihar station, which connects with Anand Vihar Railway Terminal and Anand Vihar ISBT. In the future it will have an interchange with the Red Line at Mohan Nagar.

Green Line (Line 5)

Opened in 2010, Green Line (Line 5) is the fifth line of the Delhi Metro network and the first line on standard gauge, as opposed to previous broad gauge lines. It runs between Inderlok (a station on the Red Line) and Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh with a branch line connecting the line’s Ashok Park Main station with Kirti Nagar station on the Blue Line. The completely elevated line, built as part of the Phase-II of Delhi Metro runs mostly along the busy NH 10 route in West Delhi. The line consists of 23 stations including an interchange station covering a total length of 29.64 km (18.42 mi). This line also has the country’s first standard-gauge maintenance depot at Mundka.

The line was opened in two stages, with the 15.1 km (9.4 mi) Inderlok – Mundka section opening on 3 April 2010 and the 3.5 km (2.2 mi) Kirti Nagar – Ashok Park Main branch line on 27 August 2011. On 6 August 2012, in a step that will improve commuting in National Capital Region, the Union Government approved an extension of Delhi Metro from Mundka to Bahadurgarh in Haryana. The 11.18 km (6.95 mi) metro stretch have seven stations at Mundka Industrial Area, Ghevra, Tikri Kalan, Tikri Border, Pandit Shree Ram Sharma, Bahadurgarh City and Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh between Mundka and Bahadurgarh. This stretch was opened on 24 June 2018. Interchanges are available with Red Line at Inderlok and Blue Line at Kirti Nagar.

Violet Line (Line 6)

The Violet Line is the sixth line of the Metro to be opened, and the second standard-gauge corridor after the Green Line. The 47-kilometre-long (29 mi) line connects Raja Nahar Singh in Ballabgarh via Faridabad to Kashmere Gate in New Delhi, with 26 km (16 mi) being overhead and the rest underground. The first section between Central Secretariat and Sarita Vihar was inaugurated on 3 October 2010, just hours before the inaugural ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and connects the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the event. Completed in just 41 months, it includes a 100-metre-long (330 ft) bridge over the Indian Railways mainlines and a 167.5-metre-long (550 ft) cable-stayed bridge across an operational road flyover and connects several hospitals, tourist attractions, and a major industrial estate along its route. Services are provided at intervals of 5 min. An interchange with the Yellow Line is available at Central Secretariat through an integrated concourse. On 14 January 2011, the remaining portion from Sarita Vihar to Badarpur was opened for commercial service, adding three new stations to the network and marking the completion of the line.

The section between Mandi House and Central Secretariat, was opened on 26 June 2014. After that, a 971-metre section between ITO and Mandi House was opened on 8 June 2015. A 14 km (8.7 mi) extension southwards till Escorts Mujesar in Faridabad was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 September 2015. All the nine Metro stations of the Badarpur – Escorts Mujesar (Faridabad) section of Delhi Metro’s Phase 3, have been awarded the highest possible rating (platinum) for adherence to green building norms, by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), which has devised a rating mechanism for Metro stations and buildings on a scale of platinum, gold, silver etc. for following the green building specifications. The awards for these stations were given to DMRC’s Managing Director Mangu Singh by P C Jain, Chairperson of IGBC in the presence of DMRC’s directors and senior officials on 10 September 2015.

Currently, the Faridabad corridor of Delhi Metro Violet Line is the longest metro corridor outside of Delhi, consisting of 11 stations and the total length of corridor being 17 km (11 mi). On 28 May 2017, the ITO – Kashmere Gate corridor of the Delhi Metro was formally flagged off for passenger services by the Union Minister of Urban Development, Venkaiah Naidu and the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal. This section which runs underground is popularly known as the Heritage Line. Interchanges are available with Red Line at Kashmere Gate, Yellow Line at Kashmere Gate & Central Secretariat, Blue Line at Mandi House, Pink Line at Lajpat Nagar & Magenta Line at Kalkaji Mandir.

Orange Line (Airport Express Line)

The Airport Express line runs for 22.7 km (14.1 mi) from New Delhi Railway Station to Dwarka Sector 21, linking the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The line was operated by Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Limited (DAMEL), a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, the concessionaire of the line till 30 June 2013 and is now being operated by DMRC. The line was constructed at a cost of ₹57 billion (US$760 million), of which Reliance Infrastructure invested ₹28.85 billion (US$380 million) and will pay fees on a revenue-share model. The line has six stations (Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity became operational on 15 August 2011), with some featuring check-in facilities, parking, and eateries. Rolling stock consists of six-coach trains operating at intervals of ten minutes and having a maximum speed of 135 km/h (84 mph).

Originally scheduled to open before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the line failed to obtain the mandatory safety clearance and was opened on 24 February 2011, after a delay of around 5 months. After 16 months of commencement of operations, the line was shut down for repairs of the viaducts on 8 July 2012. The line reopened on 22 January 2013. On 27 June 2013 Reliance Infrastructure Ltd intimated DMRC that they are unable to operate the line beyond 30 June 2013. Following this DMRC took over operations of Airport Express line from 1 July 2013 with an Operations and Maintenance team of 100 officials to handle the line. In Jan 2015, DMRC reported that Airport Metro has recorded about 30 percent rise in its ridership following the fare reduction of up to 40 percent in July last year On 14 September 2015 DMRC announced to reduce fares even further to improve the ridership of the line, the new fare structure will have maximum fare of ₹60 and minimum of ₹10 instead of ₹100 and ₹20 charged earlier, a reduction of about 40%. DMRC has stated that this was done to reduce the crowding on Blue line, diverting some of the Dwarka-bound passengers to Airport Express Line, which is underutilised and faster compared to the Blue Line.

Interchanges are available with Yellow Line at New Delhi, Blue Line at Dwarka Sector 21, Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus metro station of Pink Line at Dhaula Kuan & with the Indian Railways network at New Delhi.

A proposed expansion into the ECC Centre in Dwarka Sector 25 is expected to be completed between 2020 and 2021.

Pink Line (Line 7)

The Pink Line is the second new line of the Third Phase of the Delhi Metro that was partially opened on 14 March 2018, with a further extension opening on 6 August 2018. On 31 October 2018, Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake to Shiv Vihar section is opened. On 31 December 2018, Lajpat Nagar to Mayur Vihar Pocket I section opened. The final section between Mayur Vihar Pocket I and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake was opened on 6 August 2021 after being previously delayed due to land acquisition and rehabilitation issues.

It consists of 38 metro stations from Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar, both in North Delhi. Pink Line with a length of 58.43 kilometres (36.31 mi), is the longest line in Delhi Metro, breaking the record set by the operational Blue Line(excluding branch line). It will be mostly elevated and will cover Delhi in an almost ‘U’ shaped pattern. The Pink Line is also known as the Ring Road Line, as the entire line passes alongside the busy Ring Road in Delhi, that witnesses massive traffic jams every day.

The Pink line has interchanges with most of the operational lines of the network such as the Red Line at Netaji Subhash Place & Welcome, Yellow Line at Azadpur & INA, Blue Line at Rajouri Garden, Mayur Vihar Phase-I, Anand Vihar & Karkarduma, Dhaula Kuan of Delhi Airport Metro Express (Orange Line) at Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus, Violet Line at Lajpat Nagar, as well as with Hazrat Nizamuddin and Anand Vihar Terminal (Indian Railways) and the ISBT’s at Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan. The Pink Line has the highest point of Delhi Metro at Dhaula Kuan with a height of 23.6 metres, passing over the Dhaula Kuan grade separator flyovers and the Airport Express Line.

Magenta Line (Line 8)

The Magenta Line is the first new line of the Third Phase of the Delhi Metro that was partially opened on 25 December 2017 between Botanical Garden and Kalkaji Mandir. The entire length of the line was inaugurated on 28 May 2018.

It consists of 25 metro stations from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden. The Magenta Line provide direct connectivity to Terminal 1D of Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Hauz Khas station on this line and the current Yellow Line is the deepest Metro station at a depth of 29 metres, surpassing the record set by Chawri Bazaar station on the Yellow Line, at a depth of 22 metres. The Magenta line has interchanges with the Yellow Line at Hauz Khas, Blue Line at Janakpuri West and Botanical Garden, and Violet Line at Kalkaji Mandir of the Delhi Metro network.

India’s first ever fully-automated driverless train service was started on Magenta line in December 2020.

Grey Line (Line 9)

The Grey Line (also known as Line 9) is the shortest route in the system. It connects Dwarka to Dhansa Bus Stand in the western part of Delhi. It covers around 4.295 km and comprises four stations: Dhansa Bus Stand, Najafgarh, Nangli and Dwarka. The line has an interchange with Blue Line at Dwarka Station. The Najafgarh to Dwarka section was opened to the public on 4 October 2019. The extension to Dhansa Bus Stand was scheduled to open in December 2020, but construction got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was subsequently inaugurated on 18 September 2021.

Metrolite

Two metrolite lines have been approved: between Kirti Nagar – Dwarka ECC (Sector 25) and between Narela and Rithala.

Expansion

Phase IV

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Delhi Metro was planned to be built in phases spread over around 20 years as with each phase having a target of five years and end of one phase marking the beginning of another. Phase I (65 km or 40 mi), Phase II (125 km or 78 mi) were completed in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Phase III lines are expected to be completed by mid 2019, a delay of 3 years from the originally planned timeline of 2016. Currently, the Phase IV plan approved by the Delhi Government is expected to add another 103 kilometres (64 mi). Construction work commenced on 30 December 2019, with an expected completion date of 2026. This makes the total length of the Delhi Metro at the end of Phase IV to exceed 450 kilometres (280 mi), which does not include other independently operated systems in the National Capital Region such as the 29.7 kilometres (18.5 mi) long Aqua Line of the Noida-Greater Noida Metro and the 11.7 kilometres (7.3 mi) of the Rapid Metro Gurgaon that connect to the Delhi Metro.

Phase IV with 6 new routes, with total length of 103.95 kilometres (64.59 mi) and cost of at least ₹45,000 crore (equivalent to ₹540 billion, US$7.1 billion or €6.2 billion in 2020), were approved in December 2018. This may make Delhi Metro the 5th longest metro system by route length after Chengdu Metro, Beijing Subway, Shanghai metro and Guangzhou Metro.

Phase 4 Network
Line No.	Line Name	Stations	Length (km)	Terminals		Via	Status	Expected Date of Completion
8	Magenta Line	22	28.92	Janakpuri West	RK Ashram Marg	Janakpuri West, Krishna Park Extension, Keshopur, Paschim Vihar, Peeragarhi, Mangolpuri, West Enclave, Pushpanjali, Deepali Chowk, Madhuban Chowk, Pitampura, Prashant Vihar, North Pitampura, Haiderpur Badli Mor, Bhalswa, Majlis Park, Azadpur, Ashok Vihar, Derawal Nagar, Ghanta Ghar, Pulbangash, Sadar Bazar, Nabi Karim, RK Ashram Marg	Under Construction	2026
10	Silver Line	15	23.62	Tughlakabad	Delhi Aerocity	Tughlakabad, Tughlakabad Railway Colony, Anandmayee Marg, Sangam Vihar, Khanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Saket G-Block, Neb Sarai, IGNOU, Chhatarpur Mandir, Chhatarpur, Kishangarh, Vasant Kunj Sector-D, Mahipalpur, Delhi Aerocity
7	Pink Line	8	12.56	Majlis Park	Maujpur – Babarpur	Majlis Park, Burari, Jharoda Majra, Jagatpur Village, Soorghat, Sonia Vihar, Khajuri Khas, Bhajanpura, Yamuna Vihar, Maujpur – Babarpur
1	Red Line	16	21.73	Rithala	Narela	Rithala, Rohini Sector 24, Rohini Sector 26, Rohini Sector 31, Rohini Sector 32, Rohini Sector 36, Rohini Sector 37, Barwala, Pooth Khurd, Bawana Industrial Area – 1, Bawana Industrial Area – 2, Bawana, Bawana JJ Colony, Sanoth, New Sanoth Colony, Anaj Mandi, Narela	Pending Approval
		3	4.86	Narela	Nathupur	Narela, Sector 5, Kundli, Nathupur
11	Indigo Line	10	12.57	Inderlok	Indraprastha	Inderlok, Daya Basti, Sarai Rohilla, Ajmal Khan Park, Nabi Karim, New Delhi, LNJP Hospital, Delhi Gate, Indira Gandhi Stadium, Indraprastha
12	Silver Line Branch	7	7.96	Lajpat Nagar	Saket G-Block	Lajpat Nagar, Andrews Ganj, Greater Kailash-1, Chirag Delhi, Pushpa Bhawan, Saket District Centre, Pushp Vihar, Saket G-Block
3	Blue Line	6	5.1	Noida Electronic City	Sahibabad	Noida Electronic City, Indirapuram, Indirapuram Extension, Kinauni Village, Vasundhara Sector 5, Sahibabad
4	Blue Line Branch	4	5.06	Vaishali