PM Modi travels in Delhi metro, interacts with passengers after inaugurating extension

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a ride in a Delhi Metro train on Friday after inaugurating the 9.4-km-long Dilshad Garden-New Bus Adda section, an extension of the Delhi Metro's Red Line. He boarded the train from Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda) in Ghaziabad and on the way, also interacted with commuters on board the train.

Sources said he took the ride till Kashmere Gate, a major interchange facility on the DMRC network. With this new fully-elevated section, the Delhi Metro Friday forayed into the interiors of Ghaziabad for the first time, touching the industrial areas in twin cities of Ghaziabad and Sahibabad.

Passenger services on the Red Line extension from Dilshad Garden to Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda) in Ghaziabad will start from 8 am on Saturday, DMRC officials said. Two of the eight stations on the Dilshad Garden-New Bus Adda section have been renamed in the honour of the country's fallen heroes, officials said.

"The Rajendra Nagar Metro station has been rechristened as Major Mohit Sharma Rajendra Nagar station and the end station New Bus Adda has been renamed to Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda)," a senior DMRC official said. The other six stations on the stretch are -- Shahid Nagar, Raj Bagh, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala and Hindon River. This section is an extension of the 25.09-km Rithala-Dilshad Garden corridor or Red Line, which has 21 stations.

After the opening of this section, the entire Red Line now spans 34.72 km. There are six stations between Kashmere Gate and Dilshad Garden in Delhi, before the operationalisation of the new extension section on Friday.

So, a total of 16 stations are there in the stretch between Kashmere Gate in Delhi and Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda) in Ghaziabad, including both the stations. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union minister V K Singh, BJP state president Mahendra Nath Pandey and DMRC Managing Director Mangu Singh were also present during the inauguration function.

(With inputs from agencies.)