Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Delhi Metro’s high-speed Airport Express line will operate for 18 hours from Sunday instead of 16 at present, the Delhi Metro announced.

The Airport Express line will now operate 5 a.m.-11 p.m. from Sunday instead of 6 a.m.-10 p.m., thus catering to international as well as domestic passengers arriving or departing by late night or early morning flights.

According to the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC), increased service hours will be equally helpful for passengers coming from Dwarka, the Indira Gandhi International Airport or Dhaula Kuan, who want to catch early morning or late night trains from the New Delhi Railway Station.

“By increasing the operating hours, the Airport Express will also meet the global standard service hours for Airport Express links. Globally, Airport Express line’s operating hours range between 18-20 hours a day,” it said.

Airport Express also runs at a frequency that matches the global average. Other airport links in the world run at an average of 15 to 30 minutes interval.

Airport Express, built by Reliance Infrastructure, will soon increase its operating hours to 20 hours a day and beat the best airport line services in the world.

The rest of four hours will be kept for daily maintenance. The regular maintenance system undergoes three levels — cleaning of trains’ interiors and exteriors, technical inspection of operating trains and track maintenance.

Built at a cost of Rs.5,700 crore, the line has six stations, two of which are not operational.