Services on the Airport Express line will open earlier in the mornings and the frequency of trains during peak hours will also be revised starting from August 1.
While the first train from both terminal stations, Dwarka Sector 21 and New Delhi Railway Station, will start at 4-45 a.m., the last train will depart from the New Delhi station at 11-30 p.m. The last train from Dwarka Sector 21 will be at 11-15 p.m.
At present, trains start running from 5-15 a.m. from Dwarka Sector 21 and 5.30 a.m. from the New Delhi station.
As for the frequency of the trains during peak hours, it will be revised to 10 minutes and 30 seconds instead of the existing 15 minutes. During off peak hours, it will remain 15 minutes as before.
As a result, daily train trips will increase to 180 from 146 at present. The peak hours – 7-30 a.m. to noon in the morning and 3 p.m. to 7-30 p.m. in the evening – have been decided keeping in view the arrival and departure of flights at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation hopes the change in schedule will tremendously help passengers of the Shatabdi Express, which departs from the New Delhi Railway Station early in the morning and returns late at night.
“Now the Shatabdi Express passengers coming from the airport or nearby areas will be able to take the early morning services of the Airport Link and reach the New Delhi Railway Station. Similarly, passengers arriving by train at New Delhi late in the night, with the intention of going to the airport will be able to take the last Airport Link service from New Delhi,” said a DMRC statement.
In the event that the Shatabdi Express is delayed, the Airport Express services will wait an extra 15 minutes, till 11-45 p.m.
The operating speed of the trains on the Airport Express Line will also be increased to 80 kmph from the existing 70 kmph.
“The changes have been made on the basis of the feedback received from the commuters of the line,” the statement said.
After taking over the operations of the line from July 1, the DMRC had sought the feedback of the commuters in order to improve the quality of the services.
