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The Delhi Metro on Saturday completed 20 years of successful operations in the national capital region.

The Delhi Metro operations started on December 24, 2002, when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had flagged off the first ever train on the 8.4 km long Shahdara to Tis Hazari corridor of Red Line. Since then, the Delhi Metro network has expanded exponentially.

As per Anuj Dayal, Principal Executive Director, Corporate Communications, the expansion of the network has also been among the fastest in the world, as more than 380 kilometres of new lines have been added since 2002.

"Today, DMRC operates 391 kilometers of metro network with 286 stations on 12 corridors (Including Noida - Greater Noida and Rapid Metro, Gurugram) across Delhi-NCR," he said.

Currently, Delhi Metro is the largest metro network in India and among the largest metros in the world with some of the most advanced technologies such as driverless metro operations on two corridors. The network is further being expanded in the phase - IV project, after completion of which, another 65 kilometers of network will be added.

Currently, the construction is in progress on three approved priority corridors of Phase IV. Two of them are the extension of existing Pink (Majlis Park to Maujpur) and Magenta (R K Ashram Marg to Japankpuri West) Lines, while a new Silver Line will come up connecting Tughlakabad to Delhi Aerocity.

Delhi Metro celebrated the occasion and it was marked with the inauguration of a special exhibition on highlights of 20 years of metro operations and the Indo-Japan partnership, as the year 2022 marks the completion of 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.

This special exhibition was inaugurated at Welcome Metro Station by SUZUKI Hiroshi, Ambassador Extraordinary of Japan to India, in the presence of DMRC's Managing Director, Vikas Kumar, SAITO Mitsunori, Chief Representative, JICA India OfficeAand other senior officials.

Japan has a long-standing association with the DMRC since the inception of the organisation through financial support and technical assistance for the construction of all phases of the Delhi Metro project so far.

This exhibition offers glimpses of Delhi Metro's landmark moments in the past 20 years and covers special occasions such as inauguration of major corridors, introduction of new technologies, unique facilities, interesting facts and visits by important personalities.

The exhibition also showcases the partnership of Delhi Metro and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other Japanese organisations which have supported Delhi Metro in its journey so far.

As part of the celebrations of the 20th operations anniversary, the first train, which was flagged off by the then Prime Minister Vajpayee, was specially decorated and operated today on the Red Line.

Announcements were made inside the train to inform passengers that they were travelling in the very first train which sparked a delightful reaction from the passengers inside the train.