The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Thursday, 14 August 2025, announced that metro services across all its lines will begin at 4 am on Independence Day, 15 August, to facilitate the movement of special guests and the general public attending the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort. Services will run at a 30-minute frequency on all lines until regular scheduled services commence for the day.

Early Services and Ticket Arrangements

According to a DMRC statement, trains will depart from all terminal stations across the network from 4 am, well ahead of the usual start time. To ensure seamless travel for official invitees, the corporation has supplied 1,30,000 special pre-vended QR tickets to the Ministry of Defence. Invitees carrying valid physical admit cards issued by the Ministry of Defence will also be provided special QR tickets at designated metro stations. The cost of travel on these tickets will be reimbursed to DMRC by the Ministry of Defence.

Nearest Metro Stations to Red Fort

Commuters headed to the Independence Day venue should note that Lal Quila, Jama Masjid, and Delhi Gate metro stations are the closest points on the network to the Red Fort. Heightened security deployment and tight traffic restrictions are already in place across the national capital, with a full dress rehearsal having been conducted at the Red Fort on Thursday ahead of the event.

Kite-Flying Safety Warning

A day before the early-service announcement, DMRC issued a separate advisory urging residents across Delhi-NCR to refrain from flying kites near elevated metro lines. The corporation warned that kite strings could become entangled with high-voltage overhead equipment (OHE), potentially disrupting train services or posing a serious safety hazard to passengers and staff. DMRC reiterated that public cooperation is essential to maintain uninterrupted services during the Independence Day period.

Security and Crowd Management

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15 August is expected to draw large crowds, with extensive movement restrictions in place across central Delhi. The combination of early metro access and pre-distributed QR tickets is designed to ease congestion and reduce dependence on road transport in a zone already under tight security protocols. This is a standard operational arrangement that DMRC has followed in previous Independence Day editions, underscoring the metro's role as the primary mobility backbone for major national events in the capital.