More passengers to check-in at New Delhi station of Airport Express Link

Passengers flying IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir from Terminal 1D will be allowed the facility soon

Passengers flying by IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, the low-cost carriers (LCCs), will soon be also able to check in their baggage at the New Delhi rail station of the Airport Express Line.

At present, the Airport Express Metro Line connects New Delhi station with Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International airport. Shuttle services are available for passengers to travel to the other terminal, 1D, from T3; the three LCCs operate from the former. However, only passengers flying out of T3 can check in their baggage at stations of the airport express link.

The ministry of civil aviation is now readying a plan, with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), to allow all travellers a baggage check-in facility at New Delhi station. It has also initiated a study to extend this at three additional stations on the line, depending on density of traffic.

A senior official at the ministry said, “We have cleared the plan. Passengers can use the airport express link to travel to T3 and then take a shuttle service to 1D. Their baggage would be transferred directly to the flight from the metro link.”

DMRC is also in the process of constructing a 40-km line connecting Kalindi Kunj and Noida’s Botanical Garden to Janakpuri, which will connect the domestic airport with areas in south, west and east Delhi. Services on the corridor are expected to commence in 2016.

The ministry has lately been examining ways to integrate transport systems at the airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, to enhance connectivity and convenience for travellers. In the second phase, an added 12 airports would be taken up under the programme.

Development of world-class infrastructure through establishment of multi-modal transport hubs across all major airports is a focus area for the new central government.

“We are looking at ways to develop multi-modal transport hubs at all major airports, accounting for 80-85 per cent of air traffic in the country, to provide seamless connectivity options to passengers”, said an official at the ministry.

In many international airports, the airport is connected via a mass rapid transit system, railway links, buses and cabs, offering integrated travel solutions to passengers. The prime minister has in meetings with infrastructure ministries stressed the need to develop and provide world-class infrastructural facilities, to propel growth in the economy.