Airport Express Metro may run all night soon

NEW DELHI: Delhiites may soon be able to ride the Airport Express Metro line overnight but would have to do without the service for a few hours during the day.

The move, which primarily targets international fliers, is subject to findings of a survey Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials are conducting at select stations to understand its ridership pattern.

“Our officials are interacting with passengers at the Delhi Aerocity (domestic airport) and Airport (T3 terminal) stations to know if they want the service extended beyond current timings (4.45am to 11.30pm). The survey will also help find out if majority of passengers are air travellers or airport staff who use the service every day,” a DMRC official said on condition of anonymity.

However, extending the service beyond midnight would mean halting it for a few hours during the day for maintenance works.

“The survey will help us identify lean hours during the day for repair works. But this would affect Dwarka-bound passengers,” the official said.

The ridership of the airport line, which extends from Dwarka Sector 21 to New Delhi railway station, crossed 20,000 earlier this year after fares were slashed by up to 50%.

To boost the ridership further, the DMRC had written to the aviation ministry asking it to consider shifting low-cost airlines from terminal 1D to terminal 3 or provide connectivity to check in baggage from Aerocity station to Terminal 1D.

HOWEVER, EXTENDING THE SERVICE BEYOND MIDNIGHT WOULD MEAN HALTING IT FOR A FEW HOURS DURING THE DAY FOR MAINTENANCE WORKS.