DMRC to add new features in Phase-IV corridors

As a part of Phase-IV, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which is currently working on three approved corridors — Janakpuri West to RK Ashram Marg, Aerocity to Tughlaqabad and Maujpur to Mukundpur — with a combined length of 61.6km and 46 stations, has planned to add new features in the upcoming corridors where stations will sport a different look. DMRC will install bigger elevators in Phase-IV stations, which will be able to accommodate 20 people instead of the current carrying capacity of 8 to 13. Elevators at AIIMS, Delhi Gate and Hauz Khas stations can accommodate up to 26 people. For the first time, DMRC is planning to install escalators in sets of two (one for going up and the other for going down) even at non-interchange stations in Phase-IV. DMRC has planned to install 295 elevators and 644 escalators at its Phase-IV stations. As of now, it operates 935 elevators and 1,030 escalators across its 250 stations and other installations and only major interchange stations like Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate and Hauz Khas have dual or multiple sets of escalators, which cater to both upward and downward movement simultaneously. In fact, features have been reworked to provide better commuting experience as exterior walls have certain paint textures that tend to peel off and attract dust. Repairs in patches do not match the existing texture and for future stations, smooth finish paints will opt for the exteriors of the buildings. A large part of the project cost is incurred on acquiring land and, to ensure the minimum possible land requirement for this phase, compact stations have been planned with many utilities and services packed inside smaller spaces. This has been achieved at stations like Ashram, where DMRC had faced an acute shortage of land and now the experience is being utilized in the upcoming Phase-IV corridors.