Essential Guide on Delhi Airport Express Metro Line

The Delhi airport express line is also referred to as the Orange line. This line started operating on the 23rd of February, 2011. Before this date there were a number of deadlines that it missed. The cost for this entire project was 57 billion.

The total length of the entire line is 22.7 kilometers, out of which 15.7 kilometers is underground and 7 km stays above the ground. The line is elevated from the Buddha Jayanti Park and it stays that way till Mahipalpur. This train travels at a speed of 135 km/hr as compared to the other metros that move at a speed of 80 km/hr.

The services of this metro was stopped

Though this metro started operating from 2011, however, its services were stopped till the 7th of July 2012. The services remained non-operational till the 22nd of January 2013 due to certain technical problems. After it was re-opened the speed of this particular train was cut to just 50 km/hour.

When do the trains run?

This train was originally supposed to run for 24 hours a day at a frequency of 10 minutes. But after re-opening this train operates from 4:45 am to 11.30 pm and the interval between each of the trains is 15 minutes. It was also supposed to carry 42000 passengers in a day but as of now it carries more than 50000 passengers daily.

Here are the details of the Stations

There are a total of 6 stations that this train passes through and the names of these stations are New Delhi Station, Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Aerocity, Airport, Dwarka Sector 21. The New Delhi metro station is located just opposite the New Delhi railway station on the side of the Ajmeri gate.

If you walk from one station to another, it just takes about 2 minutes. But there are a few very important things that you should remember here.

When you come out of the New Delhi Metro station then you are in front of the platform no.16 of the New Delhi railway station. If your train is going through a higher number of platforms then this is convenient, however, it is not very convenient if your train departs from platform No. 1 of the Paharganj side of the New Delhi railway station. It takes around 15 minutes to walk from platform no. 1 to platform no. 16.

If you have a lot of luggage and also children with you then hiring a pre-paid taxi to go from the Delhi airport to the Delhi railway station Paharganj entrance would certainly be a good choice.

On the other hand, if you have to go to the Paharganj backpacker area by the airport metro express, then you will have to cross the bridge of the New Delhi railway station. You can also take an auto rickshaw from the New Delhi Metro station and go to Paharganj.

There are a total of two stations from the airport metro express line and these are very much within the vicinity of the Delhi airport. These two stations are the Delhi Aerocity and the international terminal 3. The Terminal 3 station is an underground station.

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The Fare

Since the time Airport express opened there have been a couple of times when the fares have been reduced. This has been done in order to encourage more commuters to travel from Dwarka by this line rather than by the blue line of the Delhi Metro station that is very much congested.

As of now, the minimum fare is Rs. 10 and the travelling fare from the New Delhi metro station to the Delhi Aerocity is Rs. 50. If you want to travel to the terminal 3, then the fare is Rs. 60.

Know About the details of the baggage check in

If you are departing from Terminal 3 and then traveling on either Jet Airways or Air India, then you can check in your baggage and get the boarding pass from the New Delhi metro station and also from the Shivaji Stadium metro station. These airlines also have check in counters in the stations on the Delhi Metro Express line.

From July, 2017, Vistara has also opened up a check in counter here. The biggest advantage of this check in facility is that you will not have to travel with your baggage in the Airport metro express. Therefore you can also avoid the two step security checks.

Porter Service

A new porter has also come up in the terminal 3. This is particularly aimed to assist the elderly passengers and other people who are carrying a lot of baggage. The cost of this porter service is Rs.300 per porter.

There are various ways to commute to and from the Delhi Metro airport express

In order to travel from the metro station, you can travel by rented bicycles that are available at the Vishwavidyayala station, Auto rickshaw, DTC buses, private buses, cycle rickshaws etc.

Tickets are also available online

There is a very good news for the Delhi Metro Airport Express Train commuters. This is because now, they do not have to stand in queues to buy tickets. Rather they can avail tickets online through their smart phones. This is a QR code based facility and the commuters need to use the "Ridlr app" to buy tickets online. Once the payment is made, the commuter will get a QR code and this code can be tapped at the entry gates of the metro station. All the six stations will have this facility.

The Delhi metro airport express line is expanding since the last one year. There are a number of sections in the Delhi Metro station that have important connectivity. This is true for both magenta line and also pink line. There are a number of markets in Delhi which have come up with the metro map.

Travelling by metro is undoubtedly one of the best mode of transportation. It is convenient and reasonably priced at the same time.