New Delhi is one of the most crowded cities in the world. With more than 14 million people travelling the length and breadth of the city, it often poses a challenge for the travelers to utilize the services provided by the tourism industry. Though hop on and hop off services have made the movement much smoother, often, the metro option surpasses in expectations when it comes to a hassle free movement within the city…

Road Traffic vs. Metro Rail

Although much has been spoken about traveling and moving around in Delhi, one of the rarely spoken but frequently used services to move around Delhi is its Delhi Metro Rail Service (DMRC).

The Metro Rail connects almost all the major attractions of Delhi and can save travellers a lot of time through the turbulent road traffic, allowing one to explore more of the city.

The best way to embark Delhi Metro is to use the Delhi Metro card. Fast, convenient and easy to use. It is easily accessible from the wallet. No need of taking in and out of the pocket every time.

More than five million people board in and out of the Metro Rail every day for traveling to work, school, leisure and otherwise. Although the Metro Rail is fully crowded during its peak hours, early morning hours and early evenings, and one may rarely get to sit on the benches inside, but considering the time saved in traveling within the city, the pain is worth it. The road network may be a nuisance to move around, except for the off peak hours, as the Delhi road traffic is infamous for its traffic jams. For a new comer, and for a traveller with limited hours available, the precious time may not be wasted in hick ups.

Understanding the Metro Map

The main stations of Delhi Metro are the Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat and the New Delhi stations. Almost all directions of Delhi can be traversed from the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station and is the most crowded of all, with the Central Secretariat and New Delhi stations coming only after it. The Delhi Metro Rail essentially has six different connectivity lines and they can be viewed as under:-

Yellow Line: Connecting Jahangir Puri in the North with HUDA City centre in the South

Blue Line:  The longest line connecting Dwarka Sec 8 in the South West Delhi to Yamuna Bank in the East. The line branches out here with one end that runs to Vaishali in the North East and the other end to Noida City Centre in the South East.

Green Line:  Connects Mundka in the West with Inderlok in Central Delhi. The route further is connected by the Red Line.

Red Line: Connects Rithala in the North West Delhi with Dilshad Garden in East Delhi.

Violet Line:  This line connects the South East part of Delhi from Badarpur to Central Secretariat.

Orange Line: The Orange Line is also called the ‘Delhi Metro Airport Express Line’ and connects the ‘Indira Gandhi International Airport’ with the centre of the city in just 19 mins. It finally terminates at Dwarka Sector 8 serving only four stations in between.

Putting Delhi Attractions on the Metro Map

Yellow Line:

1. Chandni Chowk Station: Red Fort, Jama Masjid,
2. New Delhi Station: Paharganj
3. Rajiv Chowk: National Museum, Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place
4. Central Secretariat: Parliament House, India Gate and President House
5. Jor Bagh: Safdarjung’s Tomb
6. INA: Sarojini Market, Dilli Haat
7. Hauz Khas: Hauz Khas Village.
8. Saket: Garden of Five Senses, DLF City Centre
9. Qutb Minar: Qutb Minar
10. Chattarpur: Ram Mandir and Shani Temple

Blue Line:

1. Ramakrishna Ashram Marg: Ramakrishna Ashram
2. Akshardham Station: Akshardham temple
3. Botanical Garden
4. Noida City Centre Station: Noida City Centre

Red Line:

1. Netaji Subhash Place: Dilli Haat*
2. Kashmere Gate:

Violet Line:

1. Janpath: Parliament House, India Gate
2. Khan Market: Khan Market,
3. Jangpura Station: Humayun’s Tomb
4. Lajpat Nagar: Shopping Area
5. Moolchand: Eating joints especially Parathas
6. Kalkaji Station: Kalkaji Temple, Bahai (Lotus) Temple, ISCKON Temple
7. Nehru Place: Electronics and Computers hub of Delhi

Orange Line:

1. IGI Airport (T-3): International Flights
2. Delhi Aerocity (T-1): Domestic Flights
3. Shivaji Stadium: Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place, Lutyen’s Delhi, Jan path, Gurudwara Bangla sahib, Old Hanuman Temple.

Exploring Delhi on the Metro

For travellers, the best way to explore Delhi without becoming a victim of the vicious Delhi traffic is to board the ‘Delhi Metro Airport Express Line’ direct from the airport and come to Shivaji Stadium, which is just walking distance from Connaught Place, Delhi’s shopping and fooding conglomerate, extravaganza,

The major sites of Delhi are located along the Yellow Line, Violet Line and the Delhi Metro Airport Express Lines. The best part about the Delhi Metro Airport Express Line is its ‘luggage check –in facility’ available only from the New Delhi Metro Station; so, if you are a shopaholic and do not want to worry about getting late while you empty your pockets around Delhi, you can straight away check in your luggage here and go on your shopping crusade until you embark your flight at the airport directly.

Planning Your Trip

Though you may come up with better ideas as you travel around the city, here are few tips you can use while you explore the city on Metro. A week long trip can be planned this way;

Staying in Delhi: If Metro is your choice of commuting within the city, then the ideal places to stay are near Shivaji Stadium Station, New Delhi Station or Delhi Aerocity Station. The ideal place would be the centre of Delhi, either Shivaji Stadium Station or New Delhi Station as the entire city can be easily traversed from here.But if you have less time or the flight check-in process and luggage concerns are too overwhelming for you, then it is better to stay close to the Aerocity Station.

1. Day-1 & 2: Yellow Line Route

• 09:00 am to 12:00 pm: Start from New Delhi station. Disembark at the Chandni Chowk station and explore the Red Fort, Jama Mosque and Paharganj market. Return to Chandni Chowk Metro and head for Central Secretariat.
• 01:00 pm to 04:00 pm: Visit the President House, Parliament House and India Gate. The booking for the President House can be done online only. Return to Central Secretariat Station and head back for Connaught Place.
• 04:00 pm to 04:30 pm: Return to Shivaji Stadium or New Delhi Station and check in to your hotel.
• 05:00 pm to rest of the evening:  Explore and shop around in the  Connaught Place & Nehru Market. Nehru Market is an underground market for clothes and shoes. The Connaught Place market offers everything from plush shopping arcades to simple street stores. You can shop almost everything here, from traditional Indian Khadi dresses to ultra-modern clothes, books, electronics, jewellery, antiques, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines, herbs, leather and metals. And if you want to relax and chill out a little bit, the place is full of multiplex cinema theatres, where you can enjoy the latest Bollywood flicks. If you are a foodie, you may not stop yourself from trying the fast food spread all over the market place. The place also offers some exquisite lounges and pubs where you can have your dinner and retire for the day.

2. Day-2:

• 09:00 am to 10:00 am: Embark from New Delhi station and go for Jor Bagh station. Visit the Safdarjung’s Tomb
• 10:00 am to 12:00 pm: Head for Lodi Gardens and Hauz Khas Village. Enjoy your lunch here.
• 12:30 pm to 02:30 pm: Saket station for Garden of Five Senses and DLF Place.
• 02:30 pm to 04:00 pm: Qutb Minar and the Chattarpur temple.
• 04:30 pm to 08:00 pm: Return to Connaught Place. Enjoy the rest of the evening here.

3. Day-3: Violet Line Route

• 09:00 am to 10:00 am: Start from New Delhi Station and head for Central Secretariat Station. Take the violet line metro and disembark at Jangpura Metro Station to take a tour of the Humayun’s Tomb.
• 10:00 am to 12:00 pm: Head for Kalkaji Station from Jangpura and visit the Kalkaji Temple. Next station from Kalkaji is Nehru Place. Get down here to witness the Bahai (Lotus Temple) and Jagannath Temple.
• 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm: Check out some good restaurants here. ‘Oh Calcutta’ is one of them.
• 01:00 pm to 03:00 pm: Check out the Nehru Place Electronics Market. Get a new gadget for yourself at surprising prices. Head back to Nehru Place Metro Station and back to Central Secretariat.
• Take the Yellow Line Route to come back to Connaught Place.

4. Day-4: Blue Line Route

• 08:00 am* to 08:45 am: Start from New Delhi Metro Station and come to Rajiv Chowk Station. Take the  train towards Dwarka. The first station enroute is Ramkrishna Ashram. Start for Akshardham Temple by 08:30 am.
• 09:30 am to 06:00 pm: Full day tour of Akshardham Temple.

The ideal way to move around on the Metro is to explore and play around. The move is convenient and hassle free. Few things to remember for new travelers though:-

• Check your belongings and money, especially during the crowded hours of the day.
• Use Travel card. Saves a lot of time.
• There are separate compartments for ladies. these can be used for the convenience of the lady travelers.
• Do not rush in during the peak hours. There are ample trains and there is one after every 5-10 mins.Let the crowd reduce.
• You are under security surveillance all the time.