Opening in July: Subway to link T-1, Magenta Line

370-metre subway, the first one in the city to have travelators, will provide easy access to terminal. About 60% of the work of the subway has been completed and the facility is expected to be thrown open for commuters by July

From July, travelling to the Delhi airport’s Terminal-1 will get easier with the Delhi Metro planning to open a subway to connect it to the Magenta Line.

From July, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) expects to open the 370-metre subway that will connect the Magenta Line metro gate to the arrival and departure areas of the airport. (PTI)

At present, people would have to cross a rough road between the terminal and gate number 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport station on the Magenta Line.

From July, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) expects to open the 370-metre subway that will connect the Magenta Line metro gate to the arrival and departure areas of the airport.

It will feature large elevators that can accommodate around 26 people and help in reducing the discomfort of dragging their luggage over road and exposure to the weather.

About 60% of the work of the subway has been completed and the facility is expected to be thrown open for commuters by July, Metro officials said.

“Once the subway is open commuters will have an easy access to the airport terminal from the Metro station. The subway will also be equipped with facilities such as escalators and lifts to ease the ride,” said Anuj Dayal, executive director (corporate communications), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

Dayal said that the work was expected to have been completed by January, but the construction team encountered very hard rock necessitating the extension in deadline.

It also suffered from the expansion plans of the domestic terminals. The subway will also become the first subway in the city to have travelators, metro officials said.

The T-1 IGI Airport metro station gets a daily footfall of around 66,000 passengers, as per DMRC estimates.

“There will be two entry and exit points, one each at the arrival and departure of the airport terminal. Each entry/exit will have two escalators and two lifts along with a staircase each,” a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson said.

Though after the opening of the Terminal-1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport station on the Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden line, the Delhi Metro had put up signage and paved the potholed road outside the station commuters at present have to walk with their luggage for 200 to 300 metres to reach the airport terminals from the metro station gates.

Those exiting the gates of the station also have to cross a busy road to access the airport.

The metro station, which was opened for public in May, last year, has three entry/exit gates. The gates have been strategically placed with the gate number-2 being closer to terminal 1-D and gate number three being closer to terminal 1-C.