Delhi: Metro link for IGI airport’s T1, T3 moves ahead

Currently, T3 is served by the Airport Express Line that also stops at Aerocity and the Magenta Line connects to T1

A long-proposed Metro line connecting Terminal 1 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) to a new station at Aerocity that will facilitate passenger transfers from Terminal 3 could get off the drawing board soon, people familiar with the matter said.

With the new metro plan, an international passenger connecting to a domestic flight will be able to take the Airport Express Line from T3, alight at Aerocity, and switch to the Golden Line to reach T1. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

“The Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been finalised to integrate T1 with the upcoming Golden Line, allowing international passengers arriving at T3 to connect to their domestic flights at T1 via Aerocity within ten minutes,” one of the officials aware of the plan said.

To be sure, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which manages IGIA had first proposed the extension in 2023, after which the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) conducted a study and submitted a DPR. The plan, however, did not take off then.

Work on the rest of the Golden Line, from Aerocity-Tughlakabad, started in 2022. Currently, T3 is served by the Airport Express Line that also stops at Aerocity and the Magenta Line connects to T1. There is no interconnection between the two lines.

With the new metro plan, an international passenger connecting to a domestic flight will be able to take the Airport Express Line from T3, alight at Aerocity, and switch to the Golden Line to reach T1—proposed as the next stop on the line.

Another person aware of the matter said both DIAL and DMRC have now worked out a final plan for which government approval is under process and is expected soon, another official said. The DPR has been approved by the Delhi government, according to people with knowledge of the matter, and it will be placed before the Union Cabinet after approval from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

“The extension work will commence after cabinet approval and will be completed by 2027,” the official added.

The planned connection comes even as the government has stated its intention to make Delhi an aviation hub.

“We have a plan that within two years we want to establish Delhi as a major international aviation hub,” Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in January this year.

“The idea of promoting Delhi Airport as a hub aligns with the government’s vision. However, we still need to improve the transit experience. While the airport infrastructure is improving, challenges remain, such as the connection between terminals T1 and T3,” DIAL CEO Videh Jaipuriar said recently.

Currently, the airport handles about 21% connecting traffic. Its international-to-international share has risen from 1% to 3% in recent years, with a target of reaching 10% in the next five to seven years.

A dedicated intra-airport air train, or Automated People Mover (APM), is also planned but remains in the bidding stage.

Currently, passengers can use a free shuttle bus service or turn to app-based cabs and taxis for inter-terminal transfers.