Delhi Airport Metro Express
| Airport Express Line एयरपोर्ट एक्सप्रेस लाइन |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Airport Express Train |
| System | Rapid transit/ Metro |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | New Delhi India |
| Termini |
New Delhi station Dwarka Sector 21 |
| Stations | 6 |
| Daily ridership | 50,000 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 23 Feb 2011 |
| Closed | 7 Jul 2012 (re-opened: 22 Jan 2013) |
| Owner | Reliance Infrastructure and CAF |
| Operator(s) | Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt. Ltd. |
| Character | At-grade, underground, and elevated |
| Rolling stock | CAF |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 22.7 km (14.1 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Electrification | 25 kV, 50 Hz AC through overhead catenary |
| Operating speed | 132 km/h top speed. |
The Delhi Airport Metro Express (DAME) is a Delhi Metro line from New Delhi Metro Station to Dwarka Sector 21, linking the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The line, also known as the Orange line was opened on 23 February 2011 after missing four previously set deadlines. It was built at a cost of ₹57 billion, of which Reliance Infra paid ₹28.85 billion (U$580m), Reliance Infra will also pay fees on a Revenue-share model
The total length of the line is 22.7 km, of which 15.7 km is underground and 7 km, from Buddha Jayanti Park to Mahipalpur, is elevated. The trains travel at up to 135 km/h, instead of up to 80 km/h as on the rest of the metro. Travel time is 19 minutes from New Delhi to the Airport's terminal 3, T3.
Service was suspended from 7 July 2012 to 22 January 2013 due to technical problems. After reopening, the speed was cut to only 50 km/hr, extending the journey time from the airport to New Delhi Station to over 40 minutes. On 27 June 2013 Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. announced to DMRC that they are unable to operate the line beyond 30 June 2013. Following this, DMRC took over operations of Airport Express line from 1 July 2013 with an operations and maintenance team of 100 officials to handle the line. DMRC reinstated the 80 km/hr speeds on the line in mid-2014. In January 2015, DMRC reported that the Airport Metro has recorded about 30 per cent rise in its ridership following the fare reduction of up to 40% in last July.
The first tenders for line construction were awarded in September 2007. On 23 Jan 2008, the DMRC awarded a 30-year build-operate-transfer PPP contract to the Reliance Energy-CAF consortium. However, DMRC paid for half of the construction cost and executed tunneling and civil works.
The elevated section of the Airport Express Line was built over eight busy roads which carry a heavy volume of traffic, including the Ring Road, National Highway 8, Ridge Road and Sardar Patel Marg.
Originally scheduled to open by 31 August 2010, well in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the line finally opened on 23 February 2011 at 2 pm after missing four previously set deadlines. The DMRC fined Reliance Infra ₹3750,000 every day from 30 September, and ₹7.5 million every day from 31 October for repeatedly missing the deadlines. The Aerocity and Dhaula Kuan stations opened on 15 August 2011.
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Wikipedia