Skywalk connecting Delhi Metro’s Pink Line to Airport Express Line to open in February

A 1.2km-long skywalk, connecting the Durgabai Deskhmukh South Campus station on the Pink Line (Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar) and Dhaula Kuan station on the Airport Express Line, will be thrown open for public from February, officials said.

Once it is operational, residents of east, west and north Delhi will be able to reach the Delhi Airport and the New Delhi Railway Station much quicker than before.

Officials said that the skywalk will come as a huge relief to those who have to reach the airport and the railway station. Though the Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus station is merely a kilometre away from the Dhaula Kuan station — connecting New Delhi with Dwarka sector-21 via the Indira Gandhi International Airport — the commute with luggage on the traffic heavy intersection, remain a difficult task for commuters.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said the skywalk has been installed with several unique features, which will make the walk between the two stations comfortable. Designers have also kept safety at the forefront, DMRC officials said. Along with CCTV cameras along the walkway, the bridge also has public addressing systems and display panels, which will inform commuters if any segment of the travalator is non-functional.

DMRC executive director (corporate communications) Anuj Dayal said that the construction of the foot-over bridge connecting the two stations is almost complete and it will be ready for use next month.

“In the last few months, work had to be stopped intermittently due to the ban on construction work across the city. Heavy traffic on the adjoining roads has also been a continuous challenge in the construction,” Dayal said.

The 7.1-metre wide skywalk is equipped with 22 travelators, with a total length of 648 metres. These have been installed with a landing space of about 15 metres between each travelator.

Apart from the hurdles such as construction ban, the Metro also faced permanent challenges of high voltage wires and immovable utilities, during construction. “Construction was challenging mainly because of the presence of multiple 220KV and 33KV high tension lines at almost all pier locations. Manually breaking hard rock around the 220KV high tension line to erect piers was also quite time consuming,” a Metro spokesperson said.

The FOB is in close proximity of the route usually taken by the important dignitaries to reach the airport and during such movements the work is temporary stopped for the security reasons, officials said.