Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] will inaugurate Delhi Metro's new line connecting the capital's hub with the upcoming subcity of Dwarka in Delhi's south-west on December 30.

The inaugural ceremony will be held at Central Park over Delhi Metro Rail Corp's Rajiv Chowk (Connaught Place) station at 0930 hours. Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will be present at the function, DMRC Chief Public Relations Officer Anuj Dayal told reporters.

This Barakhamba Road to Dwarka line is the longest of the three Metro lines at present and is also expected to be the busiest.

It will pass through thickly populated areas, busy markets and congested roads of west Delhi.

The 22 km-long line would open for public from 0600 hrs on December 31.

The ride from Connaught Place to Dwarka would be a neat 40 minutes.

However, with the opening of the line, Metro Rail's fares will also go up slightly with the minimum continuing to be Rs 6 while the maximum going up from Rs 14 to 22. This was on account of inflation and the maximum distance increasing from 22 km to 40.5 km.

The new fares would come into effect from December 31.

With the opening of this line, DMRC will also increase the frequency of trains during peak hours -- between 0800 to 1230 hours and 1630 to 2030 hours -- from five to four minutes on the its other two lines (1 and 2). The train will run at five-minute intervals on the new line 3 between 0800 to 2030 hrs.

The line, costing about Rs 3,000 crore, was completed in record time of two-and-half years, after the work started in June 2003.

The mostly elevated line will have 22 stations. All but six of them will have parking facility.