Because of the Election Commission directives as Delhi goes to polls on November 25, there was no formal inauguration for a project of such massive dimensions and work began silently this morning on the river bed for the construction of a Rs 37.6 crore bridge which will link Shahdara to Tis Hazari, an eight km stretch that forms the first phase.

The new bridge on the Yamuna will be located 164 metres downstream from the existing ISBT road bridge. The corporation also commenced land filling work at Shastri Park where a metro depot is being built.

Delhiites can hope to travel on the city's metro system for the first time in June, 2002 when this section will become operational.

The entire 55.3 km first phase of the project, which will cost Rs 550 crore, consists of three routes -- Shahdara to Nangloi,Vishwavidyalaya to Central Secretariat and Pulbangash to Holambikalan -- which will be ready for operation by March, 2005.

The Shahdara-Tis Hazari section is being taken up on first priority as it would carry about 900,000 people every day, which is the heaviest traffic density on any section of the MRTS network.

The new bridge for which work began today will be of pre-stressed concrete. It will have 14 spans of 46.2 metres each and is planned to be completed in a record period of two years, using the most modern techniques. The alignment will be elevated from the West Bank of the Yamuna bridge and run on stilts on median of the road.

There would be six stations -- Shahdara, Seelampur, Gautampur, Shastri Park, ISBT and Tis Hazari -- on this section. Convenient facilities for passengers coming from Ghaziabad and beyond for interchange to MRTS trains will be provided at Shahdara station.

All stations will be equipped with modern facilities like CTV, centrally synchronised electric clocks on theplatforms and a train describer system will be installed at all stations to provide information on a real time basis to passengers awaiting the arrival of trains.

Telecommunication facilities to the stations and service areas would be through optical fibre links which have enormous channel capacity for carrying data and voice communication.

Issue of magnetically coded tickets to the passengers would be either through counters manned by booking clerks or through passenger operated ticketing machines.

Entry and exit to the stations will be through micro-processor controlled automatic gates. Care is being taken by the corporation to provide convenient access to the MRTS stations for pedestrians and various types of road vehicles.

According to the plans, there would be adequate space for vehicular circulation and parking facility at the stations. There would be feeder bus services to the stations and inter-change of passengers between rail and metro will be at ISBT.

During peak hours, trains are plannedto run at three-minute intervals. For this purpose, a state-of-the-art signalling system will be provided. Automatic train protection is also being provided for safety in operations. This system ensures that if the driver fails to use brakes in case of obstruction of the track, the brakes get automatically applied.

The corporation said the train coaches to be used on the MRTS will be the most modern, reliable and energy-efficient. They will provide smooth riding without any noise.

Civic works on the section are being executed through four contract packages and the construction has been so planned that least inconvenience is there to the public.

The corporation has promised that the station buildings and elevated structures will be elegant and aesthetic which will easily merge with the surroundings and enhance the city-scape.

All the works, including commissioning of signalling, telecommunication and testing of rolling stock are expected to be completed by March, 2002.