The Airport Express Line or Orange Line is a Delhi Metro line from New Delhi Metro Station to Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector - 25, linking Indira Gandhi International Airport. The total length of the line is , of which is underground and , from Buddha Jayanti Park to Mahipalpur, is elevated.
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.
The line runs at a speed of providing for a 19-minute journey from New Delhi to IGI Airport. In 2023, the operational speed of Delhi Airport Express was increased to from , making it the fastest metro line in the country.
History
The first tenders for line construction were awarded in September 2007. On 23 January 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.
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 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 48, 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 37.5 lakh every day from 30 September, and 75 lakh every day from 31 October for repeatedly missing the deadlines. The Aerocity and Dhaula Kuan stations opened on 15 August 2011.
Services were suspended on 8 July 2012 due to a series of technical problems, including cracks in the girders, the iron beams that support the tracks; dislocated bearings that support the train; defective tracks and water seepage in tunnels. The Urban Development Ministry subsequently disclosed that several clips in the underground section have been seriously damaged and it will take at least 5 months to rectify the problem. A joint inspection by Delhi Metro and Reliance Infrastructure team has revealed that 540 bearings need rectification and some girders which have cracked also need to be recast.
The line reopened on 23 January 2013, operating at a reduced speed of . At the reduced speed the time travel from New Delhi Metro Station to Airport was around 40–50 minutes. After inspection by the DMRC and various other experts, in mid-2014, DMRC reinstated 80 km/h speeds on the line.
At the original speed of , the journey from New Delhi Metro Station to Airport takes just 20 minutes.
In 2022, the DMRC decided to increase the operating speed from 80 km/h to 120 km/h by 2023 reducing travel time from the current 20 minutes to less than 15 minutes.
On 17 September 2023, the IICC - Dwarka Sector 25 metro station opened to the public, extending the Airport Express Line two kilometers into the India International Convention and Expo Centre (also known as Yashobhoomi), which opened on the same day. The station is underground within the new convention center, with entrances providing a quick connection to current and future exhibition halls as well as an indoor arena, among other attractions at the new convention center.
Map
Stations
All the six metro stations on the line are known as City Airport Terminals (CATs). They are fitted with state-of-the-art gadgets like explosive detectors, large x-ray baggage scanners, under vehicle scanners, quick reaction teams and dog squads to ensure full security of commuters and baggage alike. The stations have full-height platform screen doors to prevent untoward incidents and to provide better air conditioning. All the stations are secured with a network of CCTV cameras which relays live images to the station control room, security control room and operations control centre. The security of the airport line is handled by Central Industrial Security Force who also handles the safety of all the stations of DMRC.