Airport line on track for Sept opening

Once the line becomes operational,the national capital will join an elite club of cities like London,Hong Kong,Beijing and Bangkok,which have similar high-speed link to their respective airports.

Passengers will be able to buy air tickets and check in their baggage at the New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium Metro stations,which will resemble a mini airport.

The baggage will be loaded on the trains,which will have half a coach demarcated for the purpose,and will be offloaded at the Airport Metro station,from where they will be sent to the airport lounge via a dedicated underground tunnel.

Company sources said the plan for luggage-handling at the Metro stations will be carried out,despite fears of security threats. Almost all prominent airlines will set up counters at the Metro stations.

“The state government was not very happy with the initial proposal of carrying the luggage from the Airport Metro station to the airport lounge by road. We then decided to deliver the luggage through an underground tunnel,” an official said.

Officials said the check-in counters at the Metro stations will be exactly like those at the airport. “We will look for

expansion of space when new airlines come up,” the official said.

Special trains

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 to ensure less noise and better riding comfort. Each coach will have LCD screens for entertainment of passengers and will provide flight information as well. The trains will be fitted with an event recorder to withstand high levels of temperature and impact and will act as a black box in case of an accident.

The DAMEPL will receive the first lot of trains from Spain and will put them on tracks for testing by the end of this month. The trains,to be procured from CAF,Spain,which also supplied trains for the Hong Kong airport metro and London’s Heathrow Express,will reach Delhi in a week.

The trains will be put through various tests — the entire process will take two to three months. Once the tests are over,trial runs on the line will begin.

The Airport Express Line is the first Metro line in the country to come up on Public Private Partnership model. The DMRC will create all civil structures and hand them over to Reliance Infrastructure,which will run the high-speed corridor for 30 years.

This will also be the first Metro line in the country to be mapped on Geographic Information System (GIS) to enhance safety,maintenance and traffic regulation. Mapping the corridor on GIS will help in mobilising emergency services in case of a blast or fire on the train.

In line for smooth transit

* From Connaught Place to domestic airport in 20 minutes

* Air tickets and baggage check-in counters at New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium Metro stations

* Special trains with noise reduction features

* Line to be mapped on GIS for enhanced safety