New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) The Delhi Metro’s much awaited extension into neighbouring Gurgaon will have the track’s sharpest turn. Construction of this stretch of the track has taken metro engineers twice as long to complete, officials said Sunday.
“The sharpest broad gauge curve of the Delhi Metro has been constructed on its elevated section in Gurgaon near the IFFCO Chowk with a radius of 282.05 metres,” a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson said.

The curve located between pier number 125 to 137 enroute to Gurgaon from Delhi’s M.G. Road, has a radius much lesser in comparison to other curves on the Metro’s elevated track that generally measure more than 300 metres, the official explained.

The sharp curves on Delhi Metro’s Gurgaon link had to be constructed to accommodate existing high-rise buildings, malls and residential complexes in the national capital’s satellite town.

“The construction in the Gurgaon section involved the use of three launchers and took twice the normal time in the sections involving curves as the operation had to be done very slowly and carefully to avoid accidents in these crowded areas,” the official said.

Each segment was cast in 12 days in Gurgaon.

“However, the DMRC was able to complete the work within time and open the section for trials in January this year,” the official added.

The seven-kilometre elevated Gurgaon section forms part of the upcoming Central Secretariat-Gurgaon corridor of the Delhi Metro, which will be an extension of the Jahangirpuri line from the heart of the national capital on Metro’s line 2.

Using this Metro line which opens to the public in June this year, commuters will be able to traverse 45 km through north, south Delhi and Gurgaon within a span of just 90 minutes.

Before the Commonwealth Games 2010, the DMRC is planning to run a fleet of approximately 60 trains on this line with a frequency as high as one every three minutes, benefiting hundreds of thousands of passengers.