New Delhi to Launch Airport Express

April 27, 2010 Posted by India Briefing Reading Time: 2 minutes

NEW DELHI, Apr. 27 – As the city prepares for the Commonwealth Games in October, the impact of the huge international athletics event on its infrastructure is already taking effect as it readies the launch of its new airport express.

Next month, the government will test the first set of trains purchased from Spanish-based rail equipment manufacturer CAF and is scheduling the launch of the Airport Express Line connecting Connaught Place with Delhi International Airport in September.

The line will span 23 kilometers with travel time from New Delhi to Indira Gandhi International Airport taking just 20 minutes. It is the first metro line project in India to be approved under the Public Private Partnership model.

“Static tests will be done and it will take 4-5 days. After the static tests are over, the train will be put on test track for testing. Thereafter, the rake would be transferred to the mainline where low-speed and high-speed tests would be carried out. Finally, oscillation trials will be carried out under the supervision of RDSO. The entire process will take two to three months,” the official spokesperson of the Reliance Infrastructure invested Delhi Airport Metro Express told The Press Trust of India.

Once the initial tests are over, trial runs on the line will begin. “The Airport Line will be better than anything that the city has seen till now. We are going to use the best technologies available around the world and are completing work on a war footing to open the line by September,” Lalit Jalan, CEO, Reliance Infrastructure said in a statement.