Delhi Metro
The Delhi Metro is a mass rapid transit system which serves Delhi and its adjoining satellite cities, such as Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida and Bahadurgarh, in the National Capital Region of India. The system consists of 10 colour-coded lines serving 256 stations, with a total length of 350.42 kilometres (217.74 mi). It is India's largest and busiest metro rail system and the second-oldest, after the Kolkata Metro. The metro has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using broad-gauge and standard-gauge tracks. The metro makes over 4,300 trips daily.
| Delhi Metro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
A Yellow Line train at Patel Chowk metro station | |||
| Overview | |||
| Owner | Delhi Metro Rail Corporation | ||
| Locale | National Capital Region (NCR) | ||
| Transit type | Rapid transit | ||
| Number of lines | 10 | ||
| Line number |
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| Number of stations | 256 | ||
| Daily ridership | 46.26 lakh (4.62 million, 2022–23) | ||
| Annual ridership | 203 crore (2.03 billion, 2023) | ||
| Key people | Manoj Joshi (Chairman) Vikas Kumar (Managing Director) | ||
| Headquarters | Metro Bhawan, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110001 | ||
| Website | delhimetrorail.com | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 24 December 2002 | ||
| Operator(s) | Delhi Metro Rail Corporation | ||
| Number of vehicles | 336 trains | ||
| Train length | 6/8 coaches | ||
| Headway | 3 minutes | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 350.42 km (217.74 mi) | ||
| Track gauge | |||
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead catenary | ||
| Average speed | 45 km/h | ||
| Top speed | 120 km/h | ||
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Construction began 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 network was developed in phases. Phase I (three lines) was completed by 2006, and Phase II in 2011. Phase III was mostly complete in 2021, except for a small extension of the Airport Line which opened in 2023. Construction of Phase IV began on 30 December 2019.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), a company with funding from the governments of India and Delhi, built and operates the Delhi Metro. The DMRC was certified by the United Nations in 2011 as the first metro rail and rail-based system in the world to receive carbon credits for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, reducing annual carbon emission levels in the city by 630,000 tonnes.
The Delhi Metro has interchanges with the Rapid Metro Gurgaon (with a shared ticketing system) and Noida Metro. On 22 October 2019, DMRC took over operations of the financially-troubled Rapid Metro Gurgaon. The Delhi Metro's annual ridership was 203.23 crore (2.03 billion) in 2023. The system will have interchanges with the Delhi-Meerut RRTS, India's fastest urban regional transit system.