10 things you didn’t know about Delhi Metro

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Delhi Metro extension connecting Faridabad to Delhi this Sunday. He also cruised to Faridabad on the first metro that left Delhi. This extension of the Badarpur Line on the Violet Line is expected to benefit over 1.5 lakh people daily.

While the Capital’s Metro has served as the city’s lifeline for long, Business Insider India compiles the 10 lesser known facts about this intricate public transport network.

1. The Delhi Metro covers a total distance of 69,000 kms every day. To put this into perspective, the earth’s circumference is just 40,075 kms.
2. There are no dustbins anywhere in the metro stations for security reasons. However, the stations are fairly clean at all times.
3. The Delhi Metro ferries around 700 million people a year – double the population of the United States.
4. The United Nations has recognized the DMRC as the first metro rail system that earns carbon credits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It reduces pollution levels by a whopping 630,000 tonnes a year.
5. Most complain the time when the lights and AC go off as a ‘power cut’. It’s actually the neutral zone. The power supply is being shifted from one sub-station to another.
6. Delhi metro escalators boast of a unique sari guard that deflects loose clothing.
7. Metro fares haven’t changed since 2009.
8. Contrary to public notion the Rajiv Chowk metro station was not named after Rajiv Gandhi but Rajiv Goswami. Goswami spearheaded the movement against the Mandal Commission’s recommendation for job reservations for backward castes in India.
9. In 2014, Delhi Metro was ranked the second most popular metro system globally after the New York metro train service.
10. The DMRC conducts rainwater harvesting along its blue line.

Image credit: Indiatimes