View from the top: Delhi Metro to run at height of an eight-storey building

NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is going to scale new heights with the upcoming Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg corridor of its Phase-IV project. A viaduct of this corridor near Haiderpur Badli Mor will be built at 28 metres, the highest till date. This section will also see the highest-ever station. The proposed date for casting of piers at this location is October 8.
A DMRC spokesperson said, “The rail level at Haiderpur Badli Mor will be more than the height of an eight-storey building and the pier supporting the viaduct will be of 25 metres.This will be much higher than the current highest viaduct at Dhaula Kuan, where the Pink Line passes at a height of 23.6 metres.” He added that this height was needed at this location because the viaduct would be crossing Yellow Line (Samaypur Badli-HUDA City Centre), which was at a height of around 18 metres.

The engineering feat comes with its own set of challenges. “DMRC’s engineers are planning a detailed construction plan to execute this meticulous project. The construction of the pier and the subsequent launching of the spans will be done without impacting operations on Yellow Line,” the spokesperson said.
Though metro operations are shut at the moment, DMRC has to keep in mind reopening of the operations on Yellow Line, which is one of its busiest corridors.
“CCTV cameras and other monitoring equipment will be installed to keep a round the clock check on operations. A dedicated team of engineers will be employed 24x7 to monitor the progress,” added the spokesperson. All safety measures have been put in place as the construction work is expected to go on for about two years.
The platform of Haiderpur Badli Mor, which will come up above the existing Phase-III station, will be the highest-ever at a height of 23.5 metres. At present, the Mayur Vihar Phase-I station on Pink Line is the highest at 22 metres, followed by Karkardooma at 20 metres.
The 28.9km Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg corridor, which is expected to be complete by 2022, is an extension of Magenta Line (Botanical Garden-Janakpuri West). It will have 22 stations. Apart from Haiderpur Badli Mor, this corridor will have five other interchange stations — Peeragarhi (with Green Line), Madhuban Chowk (with Red Line), Majlis Park (with Pink Line), Azadpur (with Yellow and Pink Lines) and RK Ashram Marg (with Blue Line).
Construction work on this particular section started in December last year. The average height of the pillars on this corridor is just 10 metres, but it will reach 20 metres at Madhuban Chowk, where it will cross Red Line (Rithala-Shaheed Sthal), and 25 metres at Haiderpur Badli Mor.
DMRC had carried out partial work for the Phase-IV station at Haiderpur Badli Mor, which is going to be an interchange station, along with the work of the Phase-III Yellow Line station. In fact, the platforms of the upcoming station are ready and DMRC just needs to add a roof and a station building.
Under Phase-IV, 61.6km of new lines will be constructed across three different corridors comprising 45 stations. Of these, 22.3km will be underground.