Reliance Infra's Airport Express becomes operational
05 Mar 2011
Reliance Infrastructure today said that it had flagged off the first airport express, which connects Delhi City with IGI Airport Terminal 3.
The Anil Ambani promoted ADAG Group company said that it completed this project within 27 months, against airport express projects in New York, London and Sydney which took four, five and six years respectively, setting a global precedent.
The 23km stretch metro runs underground for 15.7 km and 7km on an elevated track. This is also the first time in the country that a metro network has been mapped on GIS.
The new project also marks the first time in the country that metro stations will have airlines check-in counters, and airport-type baggage scanning system.
"The Airport Express is Reliance Infrastructure's first infrastructure project to be operational in record time, setting benchmarks on technology design and engineering front," the company said in a statement.
The Airport Express cuts travel time from 90 to 20 minutes and caters to the pressing need for fast, convenient and cost effective mode of travel from City to Airport T3 terminal.
State-of-the-Art gadgets like explosive detectors, large x-ray baggage scanners, under vehicle scanners, quick reaction teams and dog squads have been deployed at various stations along the route, while CCTV cameras have been installed to relay live images to the station control room, security control room and operations control centre.
How the Airport Express compares with similar transport
| Airport Express | city | length(km) | completion (yrs) |
| Airport Expressline | New Delhi | 22.7 | 2.3 |
| Shanghai Maglev Train | Shanghai | 30.5 | 3.0 |
| Air Train JFK | New York | 13.0 | 4.0 |
| Heathrow Express | London | 26.5 | 5.0 |
| Airport Link | Sydney | 10.0 | 6.0 |