INDIA: Delhi Metro Rail Corp has submitted proposals to the Haryana state government for an extension of the Airport Metro Express line across the border to serve the growing satellite town of Gurgaon. The 12 km extension from the current terminus at Dwarka Sector 21 to meet the Orange Line at IFFCO Chowk would be mainly elevated, with intermediate stations at Bijwasan, Sector 23 and Sector 18.
Gurgaon is currently served by the Delhi Metro Orange Line, which connects HUDA and IFFCO Chowk with Vishwavidalya and Jehangirpuri, but this is a lengthy route with 32 intermediate stations. Extending the Airport Express would provide a limited stop service, cutting the journey time to Rajiv Chowk in the centre of New Delhi by around 30 min. Journey time from Gurgaon to the airport would be 14 min.
The Airport Express service is currently operated by Reliance Infrastructure, and DMRC says the concessionaire has already submitted a proposal for operating the extension, under what has been branded the Express Metro project. DMRC would be responsible for construction of the extension, which would then be handed over to the operator.
Subject to approval by the state government, DMRC hopes to start construction in the next few months and open the line in 2016. Other projects in Phase III of the metro’s expansion programme would also involve extensions across the Delhi border to satellite towns in the National Capital Region. Amongst these projects, the Violet Line from Central Secretariat to Badarpur would be extended southeast to Faridabad.
