It will be easier for residents from any corner of the national Capital to reach Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport via Metro. For the convenience of the air travellers, Dhaula Kuan metro station will be converted into an interchange station.
According to Delhi Metro chief Mangu Singh, the junction station at Dhaula Kuan will connect the high-speed Airport link and the upcoming Mukundpur to Shiv Vihar corridor. Being the longest upcoming line, the corridor will facilitate interchange with all the lines of the Delhi Metro network, thus providing a seamless transition to air travellers to reach anywhere in the city.
The lack of any other junction station renders the Airport corridor inaccessible for a sizeable population. The air travellers coming from the far flung areas thus resort to other modes of transport to commute to the IGI airport. To make the corridor accessible for masses, Delhi Metro is now planning to convert the Dhaula Kuan station into an interchange station. The upcoming station at Dhaula Kuan will be operational by 2016.
Apart from the existing metro station at Dhaula Kuan on the Airport Express line, another Metro station is proposed at Dhuala Kuan as part of the upcoming corridor, which will connect Mukundpur to Shiv Vihar. However, according to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the location of the upcoming station is about 500 m away from the existing station.
This poses a huge challenge in front of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to connect both the stations to facilitate an interchange facility for the commuters. The novel decision could not be during the planning stages of the upcoming corridor as during that time the Airport link was being operated by Reliance Concessionaire.
However, since DMRC has taken over the operations of the Airport Express recently, it is now planning to convert Dhaula Kuan into a big interchange hub. For Delhi Metro, this will not only increase the ridership on the corridor, but will also make it accessible from all corners of the city, benefiting commuters.
The DMRC chief told The Pioneer that solutions are being found to connect the upcoming Metro station, which is half-a-kilometre away from the existing Dhaula Kuan Metro station.
"It does not seem possible to relocate the upcoming station and build it in the proximity of the existing station, so other options are being worked out. Constructing an elevated road, a skywalk or escalators could be some of the possible options to connect the two stations. Final decision on the matter will be reached soon and the construction will start accordingly," said Singh.
He added that the upcoming Mukundpur to Shiv Vihar corridor will connect all the lines of the Delhi Metro network and thus metro commuters will be able to reach Dhaula Kuan station located on Airport Express line.