NEW DELHI: A dedicated skywalk — constructed for providing connectivity between the Ajmeri Gate side of the New Delhi Railway station and the adjacent New Delhi Metro stations — will be accesible to the passengers from Saturday.
This newly constructed skywalk is an extension of the Foot Over Bridge (FOB) inside the railway station. It will also served the multilevel parking across Bhavbhuti Marg through multiple entry and exit points.
It will be open to the public from 10 am onwards, the Delhi Metro Railways Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement.
The New Delhi Metro Station is located on the Yellow Line of the network with an interchange station facility for the Airport Export Line. Once the skywalk begins to function, it will help streamline the flow of traffic at the busy Ajmeri Gate side of the New Delhi railway station. Hundreds of commuters, as well as those reaching the railway station, converge at the Ajmeri gate side every day, resulting in crowded scenes and long lines of motor vehicles waiting to cross the busy area.
The skywalk has been provided with escalators along with facilities such as Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance cameras. The construction of this unique skywalk in a hub witnessing significant traffic was a major engineering challenge, including the disruptions posed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DMRC officials said.
“The structure had to be built above a functional underground metro station just three metres below, with major traffic movement on Bhavbhuti Marg,” the DMRC said, elaborating the challenges faced by it in the construction of the 242m-long skywalk. ‘‘Also, the bridge had to be connected to two pre-existing building structures at the far ends ensuring minimum inconvenience to the people, infrastructure and other buildings nearby.’’