Metro to link IGI Airport Terminal 1 D with south Delhi

Residents of south Delhi localities like Tughlakabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Lado Sarai, Mehrauli, Kishangarh will soon be able to board a direct Metro to Terminal 1 of IGI Airport. Sources said the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), in its revised detailed project report for phase 4, has decided that the TughlakabadAerocity station line will now extend to connect to IGI Terminal 1 station.

The Tughlakabad-Aerocity corridor will be of 20.20km with 15 stations in between. With the extension, another 1.8km will be added to it. The line will meet violet line at Tughlakabad, yellow line at Saket and the Magenta line’s Terminal 1 station.

The stations that fall on the route are Tughlakabad, Tughlakabad Railway Colony, Anandmayee Marg Junction, Tigri, Khanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Saket G Block, Saket, Lado Sarai, Mehrauli, Kishangar, Masoodpur, Vasant Kunj (Sec-D), Mahipalpur and Delhi Aerocity.

Somdev Verma, a Mehrauli resident said, “The move will be very beneficial for south Delhi residents going to Terminal 1 as Delhi traffic is unpredictable and there is a high chance of missing the flight due to a jam.”

A Detail Project Re por t (DPR) for phase IV has been prepared and submitted to Delhi gover nment and the Union Urban Development Ministry for approval. Metro officials hope the project report would get a final nod by December.

In phase 4, Saket will get two more Metro stations — Saket G block and Saket D block. Saket G block will also be an interchange station connecting the corridor to the proposed Tughlaka bad-IGI Airport Terminal 1 line. Saket D block, on the other hand, will be a station on Saket G block and Lajpat Nagar corridor.

According to reports, the government has asked DMRC to reduce the size of phase-IV plan or to sub-divide it in the face of financial constraints. Sources said DMRC has also been advised to first explore the possibility of executing certain stretches under public private partnership. The DMRC has set a deadline of 2021 for the phase 4 expansion.