The Magenta Line (Line 8) is a metro rail line of the Delhi Metro, a rapid transit system in Delhi, India and the first driverless metro in India.The line is laid on most of the parts of South Delhi and is mostly underground.The total length of the line is 37.46 kilometers (23.28 mi) and it consists of 25 metro stations from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden, out of which 10 are elevated and the rest are underground.[1] Unlike the Airport Metro Express, this line directly serves Terminal 1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Janakpuri West metro station on the line contains India's tallest escalator with vertical height of 15.6 metres.[2] The Magenta Line has interchanges with the Yellow Line at Hauz Khas, Blue Line at Janakpuri West & Botanical Garden and the Violet Line at Kalkaji Mandir of the Delhi Metro network.
Shankar Vihar metro station on the line is unique as it is the only station on the network where free movement of civilians is restricted by the military, as it falls in the Delhi Cantonment area and according to DMRC official "located right in the heart of the defence zone, it thus will cater primarily to defence personnel".[3] The Hauz Khas metro station on this line is the deepest Metro station at a depth of 29 metres.[4]
For the first time in India, the construction work of two parallel tunnels was completed together at Dabri Mor - Janakpuri South station.[5]: 71 The Janakpuri West, Dabri Mor - Janakpuri South & Dashrath Puri stations have been executed by an HCC-Samsung joint venture.[6][7]
The line was initially targeted for completion in December 2016, however, this date was extended due to difficult tunnelling conditions. The trials of the line began in August 2017. The line got inaugurated in two stages where the first section from Botanical Garden to Kalkaji Mandir was opened for public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 December 2017[8] and the second stage got inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 28 May 2018. The remaining section of the line became functional and opened for public use from 29 May 2018 at 06:00 hrs IST.[9]
A stretch of 8.679 km having 9 stations on Botanical Garden – Kalkaji Mandir section was opened to public on 25 December 2017. The remaining portion of line opened on 28 May 2018.[10]
In addition to Kalindi Kunj depot, the Magenta Line will have a new depot at Mukundpur. Under this phase, the line will be further extended from Janakpuri West to Ramakrishna Ashram Marg, providing interchanges with Green, Red, Yellow, Pink and Blue lines, and improving connectivity in the northern parts of Delhi. The extension is expected to be completed by March 2026.[11]
