Come July, travelling to Terminal 1 of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, New Delhi will get easier and more convenient! The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is planning to open a subway, connecting the Delhi Airport T1 it to the Magenta Line. Interestingly, the subway will be the first one in the national capital to have travelators. According to an HT report, currently, people have to cross a rough road between the terminal and gate number 3 of the Magenta Line’s Indira Gandhi International Airport metro station. The DMRC, from July, expects to start the 370 metre long subway that will link the Magenta Line metro gate to the arrival and departure areas of the Delhi Airport. The upcoming subway will be equipped with large elevators that can accommodate nearly 26 people and also help in minimizing the discomfort of dragging their luggage over the road.
So far, 60% of the subway work has been completed and it is expected to be ready by the month of July. According to Anuj Dayal, Executive Director (corporate communications), DMRC who was quoted in the report, following the opening of the subway, the public will have easy access to the Delhi IGI Airport’s Terminal from the Delhi Metro Magenta Line station. He further stated that the subway development work was expected to have been completed by the month of January, however, the construction team encountered very hard rock, which resulted in the deadline extension. The work also suffered from the expansion plans of the airport’s domestic terminals.
As per DMRC estimates, Terminal 1 of the airport gets a daily footfall of around 66,000 passengers. According to a DMRC spokesperson, there will be two entry and exit points, one each at the airport terminal’s arrival and departure.
After opening the Indira Gandhi International Airport station on Magenta Line, the DMRC had put up signage as well as paved the potholed road outside the metro station. At present, commuters have to walk with their luggage for 200-300 metres in order to reach the Delhi Airport terminals from the station gates.