Airport Line extension opens for passengers, ends at YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 station

New Delhi: The nearly 2 km-long extension of the Delhi Airport Metro Express line from Dwarka Sector 21 to Yasho Bhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 station was opened for passengers on Sunday, hours after its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Delhi Metro has increased the operational speed of metro trains on the Airport Express Line to 120 kmph starting Sunday, a senior official said. The journey from New Delhi Metro Station to the newly-built YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 station will take about 21 minutes, he said.

Modi on Sunday morning inaugurated the metro corridor extension and the first phase of the India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC), named 'YashoBhoomi'. The metro station is located near the brand-new complex and is connected to it via a subway link. "Passenger operations on this new extension started from 3 pm onwards today. With the addition of this section, the total length of the Airport Express Line from New Delhi to YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 has become 24.9 km," a DMRC official said. The addition of the metro station in Dwarka Sector 25 will now enhance urban connectivity in the sub-city. The Airport Line earlier ended at Dwarka Sector 21 Metro Station, which is also an interchange point between the Airport Line and the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro.

In addition to serving the convention centre, the new station will also provide metro connectivity to the residents around Sector 25 of Dwarka and new sectors that have come up along the Dwarka Expressway in neighbouring Gurugram. As a result, residents of these areas will be able to reach central Delhi in about half an hour, officials said. The YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 station has been constructed underground using conventional cut-and-cover technology. With the opening of this section, the Delhi Metro network, including the Noida-Greater Noida Metro Corridor and Rapid Metro in Gurugram, will become 393 km long with 288 stations.

The Airport Express Line now has seven metro stations -- New Delhi (interchange with Yellow Line), Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Aerocity, Airport (T-3), Dwarka Sector 21 (interchange with Blue Line) and YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25. A total of eight trains comprising six coaches will run on this line at a frequency of 10 minutes, the DMRC had earlier said. The previous travel time of approximately 22 minutes between New Delhi and Dwarka Sector 21 has now been reduced to around 19 minutes with the enhanced speed of trains, officials said. The YashoBhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 metro station has three subways. A 735-metre subway connects the station to the YashoBhoomi complex (exhibition halls, convention centre, and Central Arena), another one connects the entry and exit across Dwarka Expressway, while the third one connects the Metro station to the foyer of Future Exhibition halls of the YashoBhoomi complex, the DMRC said on Friday