New Delhi: Come September, Delhiites will
not only be able to reach airport in just 20 minutes from
Connaught Place by `express` Metro, but can also hope to save
some more time by checking in their baggages at select metro
stations.
The 23-km long Airport Express Line, which will be
operated by ADAG`s Reliance Infrastructure-led Delhi Airport
Metro Express Limited (DAMEPL), will be commissioned by
September, a month before the Commonwealth Games, with 85 per
cent of the work on the line already complete.
When the line becomes operational, the national
capital will join the elite club of cities like London, Hong
Kong, Beijing and Bangkok, which have similar high-speed link
to airports.
Passengers will be able to buy air tickets and check
in their baggages at New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium stadium
stations which will resemble a mini airport.
The baggages will be loaded onto the trains, which
will have half-a-coach dedicated for the purpose, and will be
off-loaded at the Airport Metro station, from where they will
be sent to the airport lounge through a dedicated underground
tunnel.
Company sources said that the plan for the luggage
handling at Metro stations is very much on and that almost all
prominent airlines will set up their counters.
Government was not very happy with the initial
proposal of carrying the luggages from the Airport Metro
station to the airport lounge by road.
"So, we decided to deliver the luggages through an
underground tunnel. The idea was welcomed (by the
government)," a company source said.
The tunnel work is almost complete and it will help in
better coordination between the two authorities -- DAMEPL
and Delhi International Airport Limited.
The source said the check-in counters at the metro
stations will be exactly like those in an airport. "As of now
all the existing airlines will be allowed to set up their
counters at the stations. We will look for expansion of space
when the new airlines will come up," the source said.
The trains on this line will be entirely different
from the existing ones and will have in-built noise reduction
features.
The wheels will have flange lubrication system for
less noise and better riding comfort. Each coach will have LCD
screens for entertainment of passengers and will also show
flight information.
PTI
