Delhi’s airport metro service catches on
12 Sep 2011
New Delhi: Six months into operations, the high-speed Delhi Metro Airport Express announced Sunday it had crossed the 15 lakh passenger mark, clocking 15,000 passengers per day. The R-Infra (Reliance Infrastructure)-led operation said bulk of the commuters were airport-bound.
According to an R-Infra spokesperson, "The ridership on the 23km link has been increasingly steadily since it was launched on February 23 with an initial 16-hour service which has now been increased to 18 hours and will gradually become 20 hours."
According to the operator currently 70 per cent of the commuters were airport bound, whereas 30 per cent were local commuters. The services had commenced operations with a modest footfall of 4,000 commuters.
The jump in numbers, said R-Infra officials is because of the inauguration of all six stations on the corridor as well as the check-in systems in place at two stations viz. Shivaji Stadium and New Delhi.
Check-in facilities without baggage will be operational soon at Dhaula Kuan station, they added.
Besides airport-bound commuters, residents of the satellite city of Dwarka too are opting for the service as it offers a faster commute to their offices and homes.
Train frequencies have now increased to 15 minutes with four trains being pressed into service. The operator is also planning to offer a free feeder bus service in the Connaught Place area soon.
