Airport Metro to have longer operating hours, better frequency

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The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will increase the frequency, speed and operating hours of the Airport Express Line from August 1.

The first train service from both the terminal stations — Dwarka Sector 21 and New Delhi — will commence at 4.45 am instead of the current time of 5.30 am at New Delhi and 5.15 am at Dwarka Sector 21.

The last train, however, will depart at the same time from the New Delhi station at 11.30 pm and from Dwarka Sector 21 at 11.15 pm.

“This change in schedule will tremendously help the passengers of the Shatabdi Express trains which depart from the New Delhi railway station early in the morning and reach back late in the night,” a DMRC spokesperson said.

The Shatabdi Express passengers coming from the airport or the nearby areas will now be able to take the early morning services of the airport express link and reach the New Delhi railway station.

“All Shatabdi Express trains reach New Delhi by latest 11.05 pm. However, the Airport Express services will wait for maximum 15 more minutes up to 11.45 pm in case of any delay in these trains,” the spokesperson added.

The frequency of the trains during peak hours will also be increased to 10 minutes and 30 seconds instead of the existing 15 minutes from August 1 onward.

However, during off peak hours, it will operate every 15 minutes. As a result, the daily train trips will increase to 180 from 146 at present.

The morning peak hours are from 7.30 am to 12 noon while the evening peak hours are from 3 pm to 7.30 pm. The peak hours have been decided keeping in view the timings of the arrival and departure of flights at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal 3).

The operating speed of the trains on the Airport Express Line will also be increased to 80 km per hour from the existing 70 km per hour.

“The changes have been made on the basis of commuters feedback of the line. After taking over the operations of the line from the July one DMRC had sought the feedback of the commuters in order to further improve the quality of the services,” the spokesperson said.