: In a few years, you will be able to ‘fly’ from domestic Terminal 1D to Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here in a suspended pod taxi or a skybus.
Private airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) is planning to create a high-speed shuttle service that will help ferry passengers, visitors and employees between Terminal 1D, Terminal 3 and Terminal 4.
While Terminal 3 caters to international flights and full-cost carriers, domestic terminals 1D and C cater to low-cost carriers that fly about 35 per cent of air travellers in the Capital.
According to sources, the shuttle service could be in the shape of pod taxis, skybus, light rail transit, or a metro. To zero in on the most financially viable option, DIAL is going to carry out a study. However, the airport operator is awaiting a nod from the country’s aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Preferred options
“As creating an internal metro service is capital-intensive, it is most likely that pod taxis or skybuses will be the preferred options,” said an airport official who didn’t wish to be named.
At present, the distance between Terminal 1D and Terminal 3 is 7.6 km, if you take a drive via the Northern Access Road. The shortest distance between the two terminals will be 5.5 km, if the new alignment is finalised.
“In case it’s a metro that is settled for, it would be partially underground as it would have to go under the existing runway between the two terminals. A suspended pod taxi system or skybus would take a different route and would have the added advantage of requiring less land. Many land pockets in the area are with different government agencies, which is why a ground-level system might be more difficult,” he said.
Quick mode of transport
“The shuttle service would be a quick and convenient mode of transport but the plan is at a nascent stage and only after the feasibility study can one be sure of the exact shape the shuttle would take,” said the official.
At present, passengers have shuttle bus services to rely on for changing terminals but these are not very frequent and the buses start moving only when they are full. If you are in a hurry, a shuttle bus service might make you more frantic. Many people prefer to hire a cab to cover the distance.
Pod taxis are preferable to a metro service as the latter is
capital-intensive
