DMRC to reduce Airport Express fare to woo passengers

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Tuesday decided to reduce fares on the Airport Express by September 18 up to 50 percent for the convenience of commuters.

As per the revised fare structure, the minimum single journey fare would be Rs.10, replacing the earlier minimum fare of Rs.20, while the maximum fare would be Rs.60 against the earlier fare of Rs.100.

A one-way journey for a single person from the New Delhi station to Dwarka Sector 21 would now cost only Rs.60.

According to a DMRC statement, the fare store-value card offered to the commuters will also have a further discount of 10 percent.

"The fares are being decreased to mainly encourage commuters from Dwarka sub-city to travel by the Airport Express line instead of the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro, which takes a longer route," the statement said.

It said this would also help in decongesting the Blue Line, one of the busiest corridors of the Delhi Metro network, especially during peak hours.

"The benefit of the lesser travel time on the Airport Express line will also be communicated to the passengers," the statement said.

The Airport Express line, which was built on a public-private partnership basis and to serve airport-bound passengers, has had higher fares as against Delhi Metro's 200-km network.

Fares on the Airport Express line were decreased by up to 40 percent on July 24 last year, resulting in average daily ridership increasing significantly from around 13,000 in June 2014 to more than 20,000 in February this year.

On August 28, more than 32,000 people travelled by the Airport Express line.