The airport express line of Delhi Metro, the country’s first public-private-partnership project in the rail sector, would formally open for general public in a month, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit said. The corridor will connect the city’s main shopping hub, Connaught Place with the airport
“The airport express line is the first metro in the country that comes right up to the airport. The line has been beautifully done, and the formal opening will be done in a month,” Dikshit said, while inspecting the line on Saturday.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Delhi Airport Metro Express, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, are equal investors in the Rs 5,700 crore-worth project. While DMRC completed the civil structures, Reliance looked after the rolling stock and system installation work. The concessionaire will run the line for 30 years before handing over to DMRC. When commissioned, the airport line would reduce the travelling time between New Delhi Railway Station and Indira Gandhi International Airport to 18 minutes. The trains will run at a maximum speed of 120 km per hour.
The line was to be commissioned before the Commonwealth Games in October, but the concessionaire failed to get mandatory safety clearances from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety, leading to a delay of over five months.
The 23-km line will have six stations — New Delhi Railway Station, Shivaji Station, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Aerocity, IGI Airport and Dwarka sector-21. It will have a 16-hour service from 6 am to 10 pm said Metro chief E Shreedhara who accompanied the chief minister. "The airport line will be used by people who can pay more and also they can fix the price up to Rs 150. So it is eminently suitable," he said.