New Delhi:In a major feat, trains will run at a speed of 120 kmph on the Airport Line of the Delhi Metro from Sunday onwards, officials said. This increase in the speed of trains on India's fastest metro corridor gradually from 90 kmph to 120 kmph has been made possible by "meticulous planning and time-bound implementation by DMRC's engineers in consultation with a number of other government agencies and domain experts," they said.
From September 17 onwards, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is going to operate the Airport Express Line at a massive speed of 120 kilometres per hour," the DMRC said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first phase of India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC), named YashoBhoomi, in Dwarka and also the extension of Delhi Metro's Airport Express Line from Dwarka Sector 21 to a new metro station at Dwarka Sector 25 on Sunday.
The extension of Delhi Metro's Airport Express Line from Dwarka Sector 21 to Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 will become operational from 3 pm onwards on September 17, officials said on Friday. Sources on Saturday said, the enhanced speed is likely to be implemented on this line after the inauguration of the extension of the Airport Line.
The current operational Airport Express Line spans from New Delhi metro station to Dwarka Sector 21 station. The total journey from New Delhi to Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector-25 will take about 21 minutes. Earlier, the travel time between New Delhi and Dwarka Sector 21 was approximately 22 minutes, and now it has reduced to around 19 minutes between these two stations, leading to a saving of three minutes.
The approximate travel time between New Delhi and Terminal 3 of the Delhi Airport will be about 15 minutes and 30 seconds. Earlier, it was a little more than 18 minutes, the DMRC said. To facilitate the movement of the trains at such a high speed, over 2.6 lakh tension clamps were replaced on the entire corridor. The bulk of the work was carried out in the night time from 11 pm till 7 am to ensure minimal hindrance to the smooth operation of services. Over 100 workers were deployed at a time for this work, the statement said.