Delhi Metro, which has become the lifeline of people traveling by public transport in Delhi-NCR, completed 23 years on Wednesday. On December 24, 2002, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee flagged off the first metro train between Shahdara and Tis Hazari on the Red Line.

This metro has proved to be a milestone in the transportation history of Delhi. This first train started its revenue service. From that very day began the journey of not only Delhi Metro, but also India’s most successful and reliable mass transport system.

This first train to run on the Delhi Metro network still holds its special identity among the large train fleet. It has been upgraded from time to time to global standards, keeping it modern and secure. Initially this train had four coaches, but in view of the ever increasing number of passengers, the number of coaches was increased to six in 2014 and then to eight in 2023.

This train, which has been in continuous service since 2002, has covered a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers so far. During this period, about 2.4 million doors were operated and more than 60 million passengers traveled safely. The initial cost of this four-coach train was approximately Rs 24 crore.

The advanced propulsion system of this train has played a significant role in reducing the carbon footprint by regenerating approximately 40 percent of the total electricity used through regenerative braking. So far, it has undergone two major overhauls by DMRC’s maintenance team, due to which it has been successful in maintaining an MDBF of 85,000 km against the minimum contract requirement of 40,000 km.

As part of its mid-life rehabilitation in 2024, several significant upgrades like modern IP based CCTV, integrated passenger emergency alarm, LCD dynamic route map, fire detection system, door and relay panel repairs, mobile-laptop charging socket and new repainting were made.

With this, within a short time, Delhi Metro will join the top-5 cities of the world in terms of network length. To increase the security of passengers’ luggage at metro stations, the work of installing cameras on all baggage X-ray machines will also be completed in the new year.

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