Delhi: Soon, travel across IGI Airport terminals via 'air train'
Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is one of the busiest in the world. In what comes as good news for fliers using IGIA, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which owns the bustling airport, has finalized the route for the 'air train', a special metro train, that will connect the various terminals of the airport, according to a TOI report. Here's more.
Proposed air-train to cost around Rs. 2,000 crore
The 5.1 km-long, underground air train route will have four stations - Terminal 1, Aerocity, Cargo terminal, and a common terminal for T1 and T2/T4. Currently, the 'Automated People Mover' (APM) as the project is being called, is being finalized. It is expected to cost Rs. 2,000-2,500 crore. The proposed air train will help manage the airport's huge passenger volume.
Concept borrowed from abroad
The concept of inter-terminal commute at International airports is an established one, abroad. Notably, many major airports across the world such as Heathrow Airport (London), JFK Airport (New York), Zurich Airport, and Hong Kong International Airport already offer free-to-use inter-terminal metro train services.
The project is expected to be completed in 3-4 years
Although the DIAL has not announced an official date for the project's completion, it is expected to be done in next 3-4 years. Earlier, the Airport operator had announced the plan in 2016, and had said it would be ready by 2020, but was delayed. Currently, the annual passenger-capacity of T1, T2 and T3 is 2 crore, 1.2 crore and 3.4 crore, respectively.
"There is a need to have seamless commuting mechanism"
The aim of the project is to better manage the rapidly growing passenger traffic across the airport's terminal buildings. "With the fast growing passenger traffic across three passenger terminal buildings, there is a need to have a seamless commuting mechanism for inter-terminal passenger movement... Hence, DIAL has approached the world's leading APM providers to explore the same," a DIAL spokesperson said.
