 "DMRC")
The Airport Express Line will now operate at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour (kmph), significantly reducing travel time for both tourists and commuters in the city, according to an announcement by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The DMRC stated, "This historic increase in speed of India’s fastest Metro corridor gradually from 90 kmph to 120 kmph has been made possible by meticulous planning and time-bound implementation by DMRC’s engineers in consultation with a number of other government agencies and domain experts."
This announcement comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the area on Sunday, where he will inaugurate the first phase of Yashobhoomi – the India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC) in Dwarka. Additionally, the Airport line has been extended to the IICC, and Modi is set to inaugurate the new metro station on Sunday.
The Airport Express Line, which operated at 90 kmph in 2022 and reached 110 kmph by June 2023, had originally been envisioned to run at a speed of 120 kmph, a milestone achieved nearly a decade into the plan.
With the opening of this new section, the Delhi Metro network now spans 393 kilometres with 288 stations, including the Noida – Greater Noida Metro Corridor and Rapid Metro in Gurugram.
According to DMRC, the total journey from New Delhi to Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 will now take approximately 21 minutes, down from around 22 minutes between New Delhi and Dwarka Sector 21, resulting in a time-saving of 3 minutes. The approximate travel time between New Delhi and Terminal 3 Airport will be about 15 minutes and 30 seconds, reduced from slightly more than 18 minutes.
Significant upgrades were carried out during non-revenue hours of the line, including work related to tension clamps, track infrastructure, signalling systems, and over head equipment (OHE) during non-revenue hours of the line, utilising advanced technology.
The Airport Express Line was handed over to the DMRC for operations after its public-private partnership plans faltered due to the withdrawal of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure from the project, citing structural deficiencies. The matter related to the enforcement of the arbitration award is still ongoing in the courts today.
