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Next Metro phase will provide a link to IGIA domestic terminal

In Phase-III, the Delhi Metro will stretch its network to domestic terminal on the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Once complete — the deadline is 2016 — the new Metro link will connect to Terminal 1, both arrival and departure sections.The Airport Express Link, the high-speed Metro starting from New Delhi railway station, connects to IGIA’s Terminal 3, which is used by international and premium domestic airlines.The proposed underground Metro corridor will fall on the Janakpuri West-Kalindi Kunj-Botanical Garden segment. The Delhi Metro has proposed four interchanges on this 21-km corridor to ensure that most parts of the city can benefit from the line.The Janakpuri West interchange will connect to the Blue Line (Noida City Centre-Dwarka Sector 21).Hauz Khas interchange will introduce the Yellow Line (Jahangirpuri-HUDA City Centre).Kalkaji will be an interchange for Violet Line (Central Secretariat-Badarpur).Botanical Garden interchange will connect commuters from Laxmi Nagar station till Noida.Areas like Jamia Nagar, Okhla, Nehru Place, Greater Kailash, IIT, RK Puram and Munirka will have direct connectivity.The maximum travel time to reach the domestic terminal will be 50 minutes — for those travelling from Vaishali (Ghaziabdad), Anand Vihar and Laxmi Nagar. Estimates say South Delhi commuters from areas like Kalkaji, Nehru Place, Hauz Khas and Munirka will be able reach Terminal 1 in 20 minutes.Passengers from West Delhi (Punjabi Bagh West) can reach the airport in 30 minutes. While from North and Central Delhi via Vishwavidyala station, commuters can reach domestic terminal in 40 minutes.From Noida, the direct connectivity from Botanical Garden will take around 35 minutes through the corridor.The Delhi Metro is also looking at several technical feats through this link.The IGD Airport Metro will have one of the longest station boxes measuring 369 metre. An average station box length is 260 metre.The station will also have a special signalling system with reversal facility. "We are creating a provision for a reversal facility after the IGD Airport station. This arrangement will help us reduce headway (time taken and distance covered in a journey). In case of heavy traffic, a train, instead of travelling till the last Metro station, can be reversed after IGD Airport station," a DMRC official said.This means, in case, a train is vacated at the IGD Airport station, it can be reversed here instead of running empty till Janakpuri West station.An additional area of 360 metres and 200 metres, on the two sides of station box, has been provided to mobilise a reversal system in future. The reversal system will also help increase the frequency of the Metro. "If a time interval of 2 minutes is reserved between two trains, then with the reversal system in place the waiting time can be reduced by 20 to 30 seconds," the official said.The IGD Airport Metro will have three entry and exit points.The first access point will open at the arrival of the domestic terminal, which will be connected with an underground tunnel to the airport. "The underground tunnel would be 170-metre-long and 21-metre-wide. Luggage trolleys would be provided in the tunnel," he said.The second access point will open towards the departure and the third will be on the opposite side of the airport, towards Mehram Nagar."The construction is planned in a phase-wise manner so that the traffic flow is not disrupted. The traffic diversion has been drafted and will be approved by the traffic police," the official said.The authorities are also planning a grand entrance to the Metro station. "The special architecture for the entrance of the Metro station is being worked out. The entrance aesthetics would be designed to complement the airport. The details are being finalised to give the facility a state-of-the-art look," a DMRC spokesperson said.