More Delhi Metro Maps

I made a few more maps of Delhi Metro routes on google maps. The first is of already active routes. The stations are already marked on the actual map itself - my map then just marks out the actual routes of the lines ... or lines of the routes, whichever way you understand it!

The second map includes Phase 2 routes currently under construction. The good thing about these google maps is that I can update them as more lines become operational.

The third is my speculative map of possible Phase 3 routes. My previous post about Phase 3 plans explains the speculative origins of this map (click here to go to that post), though a recent article in the Hindustan Times also supports these speculations. Again with this map I can keep updating the routes as we get to know more about them.
















I couldn't link anymore to the Hindustan Times article, but here's the map from that article.

Delhi Metro vs The World!

While working on these previous Delhi Metro posts, I began to wonder how the metro compared with other systems around the world, and found a few pretty interesting resources that I thought I should share.

It turns out that a whole lot of cities (far more than I had previously thought, for example who knew Tehran had such an extensive system!) have some sort of metro system, and there are cities with systems growing much more rapidly than Delhi's (see Beijing and Shanghai), and with much more "modern" - or at least more glitzy - infrastructure (apart from those two Chinese examples also see Madrid). Not that this necessarily reflects badly on Delhi Metro - maybe it's just that their objectives are different to those of other systems.

All these expanding systems have matched or will soon match, and in some cases will soon supersede (in length and ridership) the existing "superstars" of metro systems such as the Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, Moscow, Hong Kong, Seoul and Mexico City systems.

Apart from the pages on individual metro systems linked to above, wikipedia also has some interesting lists such as:

List of metro systems and Metro systems by annual passenger rides.

Treehugger also has some fun stuff, such as slideshows of The world's 7 greatest subways, The world's most impressive subway maps, and subway systems from around the world drawn at the same scale (including Delhi Metro!).

And I couldn't not include this great slideshow of the World's best alternative subway maps!

There are a ton of other resources available online (and offline), but these are what I came across in the past few days!

Jumping the Gun on Delhi Metro's Phase III Plans

Caveats for this post:
a) The whole thing is completely speculative.
b) If you aren't familiar with Delhi and the Delhi Metro system, this won't make any sense to you at all, and will probably bore you to death.
c) It's all about maps and planned metro routes and other such geeky things.
d) The whole thing is completely speculative.

Okay, so with all those caveats, here goes!

The DPR (Detailed Project Report) for Phase III construction of Delhi Metro is in the works, and a lot of articles are being written about what Phase III is going to look like, where all its going to reach, how long its going to be (in terms of length of tracks), whether they're going to start construction before or after Phase II is complete etc etc (Phase II is scheduled to be completely operational by Sept 2010 except, I believe, for one small bit).

In terms of the areas that metro is going to reach in Phase III, most reports are basing their stories on the routes indicated on this map (not on that particular map per se, but on the routes it indicates), which in turn are probably based on this map which is by the metro people but more complicated.

The simpler map from the website above (this map shows both Phase III & IV extensions but for this post we're interested in just Phase III)



However, I've read one recent article that has a different take, which looked much more interesting to me in terms of the routes drawn out as well as the fact that the report is not based on a map generated many years ago when Phase III was purely speculative. However, the map accompanying the article has routes marked out in a very rough manner.

The "newer" though very rough map



So I thought I'd make a more accurate map of the new possible routes mentioned in the article. However, since only a few of the stations along the proposed routes are given in the article, the map I've drawn contains a whole lot of speculation on my part. This means my map below is speculation over speculation, so it might bear no resemblance whatsoever with the actual Phase III routes when they are finally made public! That said, it was a lot of fun making the map, so I'm putting it up anyway!

Note: The black lines on my map are Phase I & II lines (with stations indicated by black boxes), which are either already functional or will be functional by the end of 2010. The blue lines are new Phase III routes.

My absolutely speculative Delhi Metro Phase III layout. Click to enlarge

(Click here for a post about some google maps I made of Delhi Metro routes, including another version of the map above)

Note: The established (black) lines probably have a few errors, for instance I've shown the New Delhi Railway Station to Delhi Airport line as going through Rajiv Chowk, when in actuality there is a whole new station being built for it at Shivaji Stadium nearby.

Okay, now that I've put up that completely speculative map, let me freely analyze the completely speculative routes! Here goes. So if this plan is correct, it really shows to me that these metro guys are using their brains when coming up with their routes. Looking at the map, set aside for a minute the obvious routes needed along the inner and outer ring roads, and take the shorter routes being considered from Central Secretariat to Kashmiri Gate, and New Delhi Railway Station to Ashok Park.

I'm assuming that the Central Secretariat to Kashmiri Gate route will be a continuation of the Phase II "Violet" line from Badarpur Border to Central Secretariat. The current Yellow Line from Rajiv Chowk to Kashmiri Gate (both of which are interchange stations) is one of the most crowded spans of the metro, and this will give a second route through the area, in the process giving metro access to Delhi Gate, Daryaganj, Jami Masjid and Red Fort, and possibly also the Firoz Shah Kotla cricket ground (is the ITO junction too much to hope for?). This will also move some of the present congestion of Rajiv Chowk onto the comparatively empty Barakhamba Road station, and divert new traffic coming to Rajiv Chowk via the Yellow Line from Gurgaon to the Central Secretariat station. The Kashmiri Gate station will get more crowded though, and I'm not sure what the plan is for that!

The second line I mentioned above, between New Delhi Railway Station and Ashok Park will presumably be an extension of the Green Line, and will connect to the Serai Rohilla Railway Station (thus all four of Delhi's major railway stations will have metro links - the Nizamuddin station is also scheduled to have a metro station in Phase III), along with a station or two in the Pahar Ganj area and few on Rohtak Road.

When it comes to the ring road routes, the metro people haven't decided to just complete one ring first and then start the next, but are taking on bits of both rings simultaneously, so as to get them running where they are needed most, and making it easier to get future extension plans on these rings approved (hehe!). So south Delhi, which will have just two metro lines passing through it by 2010, will get connected by both ring road routes by 2015, and all four lines running through west Delhi will gain a connection between them.

Pretty clever! Too bad it's all completely speculative. Now to wait and see what metro is really planning to do for Phase III!

On and Around the Delhi Metro

This blog was originally supposed to be titled A Day on the Delhi Metro, but since it took me two days to travel the entire length of the metro system (because I got off at a lot of stations and explored the areas around), and since the photographs here include two more subsequent visits to the metro and it's surroundings, I couldn't use that title. :)

In any case, my aim was not just to travel the entire system (though that would have been a fun little project on it's own), but also to explore how the metro interacted with the city, what parts of the city it reached, and to try and ascertain whether and how the metro is changing and shaping the city. Till this trip I had never been to most of the places in north, west and east Delhi that metro traveled to (my earlier forays into those parts of the city were mostly restricted to areas around the Inner Ring Road). Come to think of it, metro hasn't been extended yet into south Delhi, which means that my experience of the metro system till this trip had been limited to a few stations in central Delhi!

Delhi Metro is still a nascent system in many ways. It began operating in 2002, and most of the routes that have been opened till now (3 lines in total) are from Phase I of it's construction, which was completed in 2005, covering some 65km (the first line began functioning in 2002 before Phase I was completed). Phase II is scheduled for completion by 2010, though some of the line extensions from Phase II are already in operation. In fact, in just a few days (sometime in mid-November 2009) the first major line extension of Phase II (connecting Yamuna Bank with Noida) will open, with other major line extensions and three entirely new lines opening between then and September 2010, all in time for the October 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Phase II will add about 120km to the existing system. Subsequently, Phase III will begin construction and is scheduled for completion by 2015, adding another 100km or so.

Note: I had to obtain permission from metro's (DMRC) head office to take photographs inside the two stations that are shown here. Usually photography in the stations and on the lines of metro is not permitted. The other photographs I've taken for this post are from outside the metro system. It would have been really nice to take photos of the city from the elevated metro tracks, but since this is not permitted I didn't take any.

Another note: Instead of endlessly repeating "the metro" in this post, I've often just written "metro" as a noun to denote Delhi's Metro.

I've realized that riding on the elevated sections of metro is a great way to get a feel of the city. One is usually traveling at roof height, so wide vistas of the urban landscape around are visible. The relative low density of construction in Delhi has made it possible to construct a largely elevated metro system, as opposed to the kind of underground system found in other cities. Some people complain about this, saying that the elevated tracks spoil the "look" of the neighborhoods they goes through and the city as a whole, but I say what looks are you talking about but I think that the city and its people will adapt to this. Just as roads are not considered eyesores anymore, neither will the elevated metro system.

So with all that, here is my gallivanting-through-the-entire-metro-system story. I've actually collapsed my two days (and two additional short forays) into one narrative, therefore the description is not chronological as per the order that I visited the particular stations/areas. Instead the narrative is now sequenced geographically, i.e. by which station comes first on a particular route etc. Hopefully this won't take away from the story.

Click on images to enlarge.


Start at Pragati Maidan

I began at the Pragati Maidan station, which is my "home base" for now. From next year onwards the under-construction Jangpura station on Phase II's "Violet" Line will become much nearer. Pragati Maidan is Delhi's main exhibitions ground, which is partly what this station serves.

Pragati Maidan station



Rajiv Chowk

I got permission from Delhi Metro headquarters to photograph the Rajiv Chowk and Karol Bagh stations. I visited the stations on a Sunday morning, which is the reason for the lack of crowds at Rajiv Chowk.

A bit of overheard-on-metro trivia: Since Connaught Place was officially renamed Rajiv Chowk (sometime in the 1990s), successive (Congress) governments have been futilely striving for the name change to take hold in public imagination. A few weeks ago on the metro I overheard a conversation about how metro has succeeded in popularizing the new name, since the Rajiv Chowk station has been called as such since its inception, so more and more Delhiites are getting accustomed to the name.

Rajiv Chowk station




Waiting for the Blue Line early on Sunday morning



The next three images depict the break-down of passenger queues waiting to get onto trains. The queue is quite intact while passengers wait for a train, and even as the train comes into the station. But once the train stops, the queue soon disintegrates into a much more familiar blob crowding the action (in this case the sliding doors). And this is during completely off-hours when there is no question of trains being too overcrowded to get in. Vying for a place to sit is what this crowding is for!

Queue intact while waiting for train


Queue holds as train zooms in


Queue, what queue?



Stairs connecting Blue Line platforms (above) to Yellow Line platforms (below), and the walkway over the Blue Line tracks


Waiting for the Yellow Line




Streamlined art deco-ish assistance booth


Train coming into a Yellow Line platform


Metro entrance at Connaught Place (sorry, above ground it's still Connaught Place, not Rajiv Chowk!)



Karol Bagh

A few stations away from Rajiv Chowk on the Blue Line is the elevated Karol Bagh station. This section of metro has some fascinating mid-20th c. houses lining the street that the tracks are elevated over (i.e. Pusa Road). Elevated stations in different parts of the metro system have different looks and feels, and I wish I could have taken photos on a few more stations to get a comparison. But you can get a basic idea with these Karol Bagh images.

Karol Bagh station







Houses near the metro line







Station architecture and engineering











These stations are designed to allow a 6-lane road to pass underneath







Rajouri Garden

Rajouri Garden station is higher than usual to allow for the metro tracks to span over the nearby Inner Ring Road flyover.

Rajouri Garden station






Metro track spanning over Ring Road flyover



The trend is to take the metro close to existing commercial areas, and create new commercial areas near existing metro stations. Metro authorities are encouraging this via commercial real-estate development on and around metro property. It is quite likely that stretches of the city along the metro tracks will become more and more commercial with time, and residential areas will recede a little away from the tracks.

Shopping mall near Rajouri Garden station



Tilak Nagar

This is an example of the metro cutting through a crowded part of the city. Note the older elevated road running parallel to the metro line (visible in the second image).

Tilak Nagar station





Janakpuri

I had never really been to Janakpuri before, and got to see the Janakpuri Business Center for the first time, which the metro line now runs next to.

Metro track running next to Janakpuri CBD









New commercial construction near Janakpuri West station





Janakpuri District Center - offices and retail





Dwarka

Dwarka is a relatively new development at the edge of present day Delhi, but metro gets to it already. The newness of Dwarka is indicated by the vast empty spaces around the stations. Again, I assume these spaces have been earmarked for future commercial development, while apartment complexes (visible in the background in the first photo) are located at a distance away from stations.

Dwarka Sector 9 station






The other side of Sector 9 station





Apartments close to metro tracks




Commercial development underway close to stations



We've heard of NIMBY, but PIMBY (Please In My BackYard), really? (The sign reads "Metro View Apartments")



Chawdi Bazaar

Dwarka is at the western end of the Blue Line, so I got back to Rajiv Chowk and took the Yellow Line north towards Jahangirpuri. The Yellow Line famously goes below Old Delhi, and has made taking one's car into always-crowded Old Delhi unfashionable. The underground station at Chawdi Bazaar (Hauz Qazi Chowk) probably has the most glaring new-world/old-world difference between the metro system and the outside world that it services.

Entrance to Chawdi Bazaar station


Hauz Qazi Chowk above the Chawdi Bazaar station. The station's skylight is at the center of the chowk



Kashmiri Gate

The Kashmiri Gate station, like Rajiv Chowk, is an interchange station, and the route between these two stations sees some of the highest ridership in the metro system. The small stretch between the two stations, which is barely a few kilometers long, also happens to be the stretch that services Old Delhi, the Old Delhi railway station, as well as New Delhi railway station. On top of all this Kashmiri Gate is also the location of Delhi's main inter-state bus terminal. Needless to say, this stretch is way overcrowded most of the day.

Speaking of overcrowding, metro currently runs all its trains at 4 cars long, while it looks like all the stations in the system are designed to accommodate trains that are 8 cars long. With the opening of many Phase 2 lines in the coming months, there is news that some trains will become 6 cars long. I'm not sure what the reasoning is for keeping the trains short for now (probably economics), but the need to make them bigger is already very apparent!

Kashmiri Gate station






One of the many Kashmiri Gate station entrances



Vidhan Sabha (Old Secretariat)

North along the Yellow Line from Kashmiri Gate is the Old Secretariat, which now houses the offices of Delhi's administration (Vidhan Sabha), so it gets a station of its own. I doubt that very many administrators use metro to get to their place of work!

Vidhan Sabha station entrance, with the two white towers of the secretariat visible behind



Vishwavidyalay

The station for Delhi University's main North Campus. In the first of these two images, note the (few) auto-rickshas and many cycle-rickshas waiting near both station exits. The number of cycle-rickshas is particularly high on the right side of the image, waiting for rides to the nearby colleges. Many of the colleges are just beyond walking-range, which is the perfect distance for cycle-rickshas.

I think this might be indicative of a metro/cycle-ricksha nexus that could emerge with the metro system's expansion throughout Delhi. As metro stations pop up all over the place, they will be near to but just beyond walking-distance from many locations. The cheap, maneuverable and eco-friendly cycle-rickshas can in effect double and triple the "human powered" access range from metro stations. Maybe metro should invest in a feeder cycle-ricksha service instead of feeder buses!

Vishwavidyalay station





Adarsh Nagar

The Adarsh Nagar station is another one where the differences between the station/system and the outside world are stark. Right outside this station is a squatter settlement that contrasts startlingly with the modern, orderly and clean metro system. I think I'm going to write another post elaborating this difference and the issue of access.

Adarsh Nagar station and its environs







Shastri Nagar

After reaching Jahangirpuri on the Yellow Line, I returned to Kashmiri Gate station and took the Red Line westwards towards Rithala. Shastri Nagar station on this line is to me a perfect example of the middle-class and working-class landscapes that much of the metro goes through. Currently with residential colonies on both sides (which have more traditional commercial areas within and nearby), these stations may not get the kind of concentrated commercial development around them that we see in other places, but rather could have more "strip" commercial development along the tracks.

Mural on Shastri Nagar station


Shastri Nagar station and its environs




The Red Line track snaking its way through north-west Delhi



Inderlok

Inderlok is a future interchange station. The existing Red Line platform is to the left, on top of Parsavnath Metro Mall on the ground floor. The new Green Line trains coming from and going towards Mundka will terminate on the platform to the right, now nearing completion.

The Red and Green lines that meet at Inderlok are on different gauges, on account of what sounds to me like very political decisions made in the past regarding metro's gauge. The whole issue of different gauges on the same system seems very messy to me, and hopefully this won't lead to too many complications in the future.

Inderlok station



The Inderlok station premises has yet another mall on it (below), the design of which is indicative of the kind of ... ahem ... "modern" aesthetic that metro seems to wants to project - with lots of glass and aluminum facing. On a separate note, the mall does not appear to be very busy right now.

Mall at Inderlok station





Subhash Place

The district center at Netaji Subhash Place was another that I had never visited, and I spent some time there exploring the area.

Metro station and track with Netaji Subhash Place in the background






Looking towards the metro station


The nearby Pitampura TV tower. Don't miss the "Toe Away Zone" sign!



Netaji Subhash Place






Panorama of Netaji Subhash Place, covering an approximate 225 degree view from within the area


An open court between buildings, with the metro line visible in the background. Does the fork and spoon sculpture in the middle indicate a "food" court? :)



Seelampur

Seelampur is also on the Red Line, but to the east of Kashmiri Gate in north-east Delhi, across Yamuna river.

Seelampur station







End at Welcome

Welcome is the name of an area in east Delhi just ahead of Seelampur, in the overall Shahdara area. A good place to end the blog!

Welcome station