Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) From Wednesday, you can reach the international airport from the New Delhi railway station in 20 minutes, thanks to Delhi Metro that will finally begin operations on the route after missing three deadlines. Passengers will also be able to check flight information on LCD screens inside the Metro coach.

This is Delhi Metro’s first public-private partnership project.

“The 23-km airport express line is all set for commercial operations from tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 p.m.,” a Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd (DAMEPL) official said.

Initially, five to six trains will ply on the route every day, the train frequency will be 20 minutes. “As the footfall increases, the frequency of the train will increase,” the official said.

According to DAMEPL, the Metro fare ranges between Rs.20 and Rs. 100.

The travel from New Delhi Railway Station to the airport will cost Rs.80 and from the railway station to Dwarka Sec 21 Rs.100.

The Metro link missed three deadlines — Oct 3, Oct 31 and Dec 31 — set by Delhi Metro and the urban development ministry. The trains will run at 105 km per hour.

According to Delhi Metro sources, only the commercial operations will start Wednesday, but passengers will not be able to check-in their baggage at the stations.

Built at a cost of about Rs.5,700 crore, the line has six stations — New Delhi Railway Station, Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Aero City, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Dwarka Sec-21.

But the Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aero city stations are not ready yet.

Each coach has LCD screens showing flight information for the convenience of travellers while half the compartment of every six-coach train is reserved for luggage.

Delhi Metro is responsible for the civil work and Reliance Infrastructure will operate the line for 30 years and share the revenues.