DMRC building first-ever underground integrated parking facility at Dhansa station
The Dhansa Bus Stand metro station, being built on the extension of the Grey Line, is expected to open in July
New Delhi: The Delhi Metro is building its first-ever underground integrated parking facility at an upcoming metro station on the Grey Line, which will allow commuters to park their vehicles and move to the concourse area directly, officials said on Thursday.
The Dhansa Bus Stand metro station, being built on the extension of the Grey Line, is expected to open in July, they said.
Work on the 1.8-km-long Najafgarh–Dhansa Bus Stand section is now almost complete, and with the completion of this section, this corridor will become 6.1-km-long with four stations, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said.
"The Dhansa Bus Stand metro station on the Dwarka-Najafgarh-Dhansa Bus Stand corridor will be the first-ever underground metro station of the Delhi Metro network to have an entire underground floor dedicated for parking of vehicles," the Delhi Metro said in a statement.
The parking facility will be integrated with the main station area, and vehicle users will be able to park their cars and two-wheelers there and then proceed to the concourse of the station directly using lifts and escalators, the officials said.
The station has been designed as a four-level underground structure where the platforms will be at the bottom (at an approximate depth of 18 m), followed by the concourse and then an entire floor for parking above it with the roof level at the top (or the ground level), the DMRC said.
The parking lot is equipped with facilities, such as the entry and exit ramps, lifts, staircases and escalators. The facility will have a parking space for about 110 cars and 185 two-wheelers. There would be provision for property development activities at the ground level in the future, the statement said.
There will be one lift at the centre of the parking lot for passengers. In addition, there will be two staircases and two escalators each, which will connect the facility directly with the area of the concourse below, it said.
Druing office hours, when passengers are in a hurry to board trains and as early as possible, the location of the parking lot in such close vicinity to the concourse will be a major benefit, the officials said.
The parking facility can be considered a major design-based improvement since no other underground metro station in the Delhi Metro's network has any such facility, the DMRC said.
Currently, the Hindon River metro station on the Dilshad Garden–Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda) corridor has a basement parking facility though it is an elevated station. The New Delhi station of the Airport Line has a multilevel parking lot above the station, it said.
The parking facility will be of great benefit to the local residents as the adjoining areas are extremely congested with very limited space for parking of vehicles.
The parking space will have ramps on two sides for entry and exit of vehicles. There will be two entry and exit facilities which will connect the parking lot both with the surface above, and the platform below, the officials said.
The Delhi Metro currently operates parking lots in about 100 metro stations across the network.
This extension of the Grey Line will immensely benefit the residents of the interior areas around Najafgarh. All efforts are being made to open the Najafgarh-Dhansa Bus Stand section sometime later this month after complying with all statutory requirements, the officials said.