Airliners-India

AirIndia0001 · Member Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 391

Did a round trip on Delhi Metro's Airport Express Line today! Smile

Not your conventional trip report this.. just thought about penning them down some observations –

Hardware:

Great to see some standard passenger friendly features being introduced on the Delhi Metro - Comfortable seating, Sufficient Rack space for carrying passenger luggage, Live Route Map, Good Cabin Lighting considering the route is mostly underground. Glass-barricading on platforms as this is a high speed line.

The stations (I only transited through the end-points: Dwarka Sec.21 and New Delhi Railway Station) and platforms are clean and well maintained. The steel and glass structures called stations do their basic job yet give cold vibes and lack the class or warmth that is exuded by T3. Maybe with more footfalls this feeling will die down. Though I did not transit through the IGI Airport station, I have heard and read reports that it has incorporated some elements which extend from T3.

Human Touch:

CISF and Private Security were all over the place and with a handful of passengers you currently feel like you are entering a war-zone!
I did not spot any DAMEL staff, either on the platforms or in the train during its Dwarka-NDLS run.. but the situation was the exact opposite on the return leg. DAMEL folks were extremely courteous and despite a near-empty train, asked passengers to deposit their baggage in the luggage hold area so that fellow passengers are not inconvenienced.

The stoppages at stations en-route is a good 2-3 minutes giving enough time for Heavy-luggage travellers, an Indian speciality!

The speed was good and at 105kmph it felt similar to riding a long-distance express train during the elevated parts of the journey. Gliding over the ridge with all the greenery around was very soothing to one’s tired eyes.

Operations are “Automated” yet the presence of Human element in the driver cabin as an override

So Near and Yet so Far:

Though, today was just day #2, the floor of the coach in which I travelled did not feel very spic and span. It carried patches of dirt and grime, probably with all the waiting and baking in the hot sun.
The driver on the first leg seemed new to his post... especially since his ‘start’ at Dwarka Sect.21 was anything but smooth and anyone standing without support would have bumped hard into his fellow passenger. Also, the poor chap missed the door alignment at the New Delhi Station because of which the doors could not retract for a good 2-3 minutes!

The incomplete stations en-route – Aero City and Dhaula Kuan are major eyesores!
Besides, the access to the line from the New Delhi Railway Station is currently problematic - Absence of proper signage (I did not spot any directions/dedicated passage way). It meant, I had to find my own way to reach the Airport Line Metro station, which is located across the main road outside the Railway Station premises. Also, on the inbound, the exits of the Airport Line and the Regular Metro line merge prior to the final exit outside the Railway Station and hence it becomes very crowded and slow moving.

Eternal Hope:

Despite all the glitches, the overall experience was impressive and hopefully, things will be streamlined before the rush kicks in!

Lack of any written rules and DAMEL’s insistence and enforcement of the “Due to Security Concerns NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED” thingy coupled with a hyper-active CISF which asked me to delete them was not a good sign... Hopefully, I will recover and post them soon!

Cheers!
AI1

Nimish · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:56 am Post subject:

Thanks for posting - seems like a good start and hopefully get better with time!
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sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

@AI1, thanks for sharing this information. I will try this line from New Delhi Railway Station to T3 for my DEL-BOM trip tomorrow!
The no-photography instruction is a dampener...
Cheers, Sumantra.

himmat01 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: DEL

I took a ride on the Airport Express from T3 to Shivaji Stadium station. It took around 13 minutes and the ticket cost was just Rs. 60.00 compared to around Rs. 350.00 I would have spent on a Meru/Mega Cab.
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AirIndia0001 · Member Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 391

Here come the pics.. Smile

Dwarka Sec.21 station.. Nicely done!

First Look..

Cabin view.. showing the luggage storage area and Live Route Map

Seats..

Station Info Display System and Luggage racks..

zipping past at 105kmph.. notice the smudges on the window to the left.. maybe the result of all the sun bathing! Razz

Gliding over the traffic! Very Happy

Close-up of the Live Route Map! Cool

Exteriors of the incomplete Dhaula Kuan Station.. Eye-sore! Mad

The Ridge!!! Very Happy

post arrival at the NDLS station! Smile

From the Plane to the Train.. passengers proceeding to the NDLS Train station

FIDS

Merging Traffic ahead! .. exits of the city and airport lines converge before final exit to the NDLS station.

Cheers!
AI1

airindia787 · Member Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 770 Location: DAB & ZTF

Seems like DEL took a leaf from the Airport Express at HKG. The stations, trains, route maps all look very similar from when I passed through HKG in 2005.
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airbus340 · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2009 Posts: 465

yash777 · Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 11:13 pm Post subject:

That looks fantastic! I love the Delhi metro!

Btw, did you get a fisheye lens Sankalp?
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AirIndia0001 · Member Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 391

Yash.. I used the 18-55 Smile

yash777 · Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 12:51 am Post subject:

The third photo looked very fisheyed to me Wink

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ryder1650 · Member Joined: 17 Jul 2007 Posts: 554

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

Seems like Delhi moved into the 21st century leaving cities like Mumbai and Kolkata behind in the 19th and 15th centuries respectively.

yash777 · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:56 am Post subject:

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

AirIndia0001 · Member Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 391

Delhi's AEL coaches have been built by the Spanish major CAF

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

G-BYGB · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 5:14 pm Post subject:

Do they have Metro connections from T3 to Gurgeon south city 2?
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himmat01 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: DEL

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Nice TR, thanks for sharing those pictures.

G-BYGB · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:02 pm Post subject:

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:23 pm Post subject:

Nice pictures and great report. Thanks for sharing.

Public patronage of this service is only bound to rise, so that spells good news.
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Yeah.

madnish30 · Member Joined: 14 Jun 2010 Posts: 152

The station sa re different from those at HKG ( in HKG you don't have separate stations for AEL just separate platforms on the same station, of course except the airport station.

But, the coaches are identical because they have been made by the same Spanish firm - CAF Smile

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