New Delhi, 09 August (H.S.):

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has surpassed some of the world’s leading metro systems, including Hong Kong Metro, Paris Metro and New York Subway, in terms of operational punctuality and reliability. While several metro systems consider a train delayed only after it exceeds a delay of several minutes, the Delhi Metro records even a delay of more than 59 seconds as a delay.

According to information released by the DMRC on Sunday, the Delhi Metro achieved an operational punctuality rate of 99.95 per cent in 2026. The system recorded a punctuality rate of 98.27 per cent in 2003, which rose to 99.64 per cent by 2005. Thus, within just two years of commencing operations, the DMRC entered the select group of metro systems that had achieved punctuality levels exceeding 99 per cent. Since then, the DMRC has consistently maintained punctuality levels of 99.9 per cent or above year after year.

The Delhi Metro has also reduced train headways on busy corridors from around seven minutes in its initial years to just two minutes and 18 seconds. Normally, as metro networks and fleets expand and maintenance-related challenges emerge over time, operational punctuality and reliability tend to come under pressure. However, the DMRC has defied this trend during its 23 years of operations.

A Delhi Metro train, on average, encounters a service-affecting failure only once after covering approximately 2.72 million kilometres, highlighting the system’s high level of operational reliability.

According to the DMRC, international benchmarking by the Community of Metros (CoMET), a group comprising 45 major metro systems, has consistently placed the Delhi Metro among the world’s top five metro systems in terms of reliability. The ranking is based on a two-minute delay criterion.

The DMRC also operates India’s largest driverless metro network, with approximately 29 per cent of its network currently operating under Unattended Train Operation (UTO). Line 7, stretching 71.55 km and comprising 45 stations, is the world’s longest driverless metro line and one of the world’s longest circular metro lines. Except for a small section of the Grey Line, it connects with almost every corridor of the Delhi Metro network. The line has significantly eased congestion at interchange points in central Delhi.

According to the release, the Delhi Metro began its journey on December 25, 2002, with a modest 8.4-km stretch between Shahdara and Tis Hazari, comprising just six stations. Today, it has grown into India’s largest metro rail network, spanning 416.5 km across 12 lines and 303 stations. The network includes 31 interchange stations and connects Delhi with the wider National Capital Region (NCR).

Daily ridership has also witnessed a remarkable rise, from approximately 82,000 passengers during the first year of operations to a record 8.1 million passenger journeys in a single day on August 8, 2025. The metro currently records an average daily ridership of 6.406 million passenger journeys.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar