Since my home town is in Punjab. I often travel to Delhi then take a train from there to Punjab. From airport I have been many times conned by taxi drivers. They charged me as high as 800-900 INR to station. Besides, I wanted to find a safer, cheaper and time efficient mode of travelling. Nothing sounded better than Delhi Metro service. So here is the complete guide including food recommendations.
If you are travelling from Airport especially Terminal T1 to New Delhi Railway station or vice versa then read on. This article is written for you.
Interestingly, there are two metro options to travel from Airport Terminal T1: 1) New Delhi Metro (regular metro) 2) Airport express line (special metro for airport).
So upon arrival on Delhi Airport Terminal T1, I walked a certain distance to reach Delhi Metro, from where I got a ticket @40 INR for New Delhi Railway station . But I had to change metro at the station called Hauz Khas. My train arrived at Plaform no.2 (The train route is written so there is no confusion) From Hauz Khas, I got train to New Delhi Railway station. Once I reached New Delhi metro station, I exited from GATE 1 and right in front of me I could see the New Delhi Railway station. (Don't exit from GATE 3, it will take you to Ajmeri Gate and the distance to Railway station will increase)
At station, I went towards Platform number 16. Right after the security check in point, on the left side just below the staircase, there is an AMAZING IRCTC Executive lounge which offers buffet. They have both Veg and non Veg options. The veg buffet costs 341 INR. They gave me 30 minutes to have my lunch. The food was very good and delicious and while coming back again to Delhi, I stopped at the same place for my lunch. They have different menu each time which always includes one Soup, Coffee, Salad, Papad, paneer ki sabzi, Roti (Indian bread), Rice, Raita, Dry veg, Dal, and Sweet dish.
These are the photos inside the lounge. They also have bath and other options for day time rest but they charge extra.
So overall it took me about 1 hour to reach New Delhi railway station from Airport.
When I was coming back to Delhi to board a flight again. I stopped by the same Executive lounge near platform 16. After coming out of station, right in front of me, I saw Airport Express line metro; so this time, I took Airport special metro. This Metro goes directly to Terminal T3, but for terminal T1 and T2, you have to get down at Aerocity and take a shuttle bus from there. They have an exclusive counter for airport travellers and also check in facility for Indigo and Spice Jet I suppose (I'm not sure about the airlines offering check in facility at metro station). My flight was arriving at Terminal 1 D, So, I bought the ticket to Aerocity at 50 Rupees. I went at platform 2 and waited for the metro.
I really liked this metro. They had chair seats and even exclusive shelves to keep the luggage. It took 20 minutes to reach Aerocity. On exit, right in front of me was the bus to Terminal T1 so I boarded it. The bus reached Terminal 2 first where we took the bus ticket and then went to Terminal T1-C. This bus service is available between 6 AM to 11 PM only. It took me about 20 minutes to reach T1 from Aerocity. So total about 40-50 minutes. Once at T1 C, I took an elevator and reached the above floor T1 D.
So overall, my metro experience was quite good and cheap!
If you don't mind walking and little hassle of buying tickets, metro is really a good way to commute.
Here are the pros and cons of New Delhi Metro vs Airport expressline Metro
New Delhi Metro:
Pros:
1.At a walking distance from Terminal 1 itself
2. Quite economical
3. New Delhi railway station is right at the exit from Gate 1
4. No worries about traffic
Cons:
1. You have to switch the trains at Hauz Khas and walking distance is painfully long.
2. Sometimes metro is too crowded to get a seat.
Airport express line metro
Pros
1. Direct link to T3, no switching of trains required.
2. For T1 and T2, again the train is direct but have to get down and take a bus at Aerocity
3. Mostly everyone gets a seat because it's an airport exclusive train.
4. comfortable chair seats
5. Allotted space for luggage.
6. No worries about traffic
Cons:
1. Had to get down at Aerocity and take shuttle bus if going to T1 or 2.
2. The bus service is available only from 6 AM to 11 PM.
(From Airport T1, if you want to take airport express line metro, ask for the way to shuttle bus at airport; the bus costs 30 INR . The shuttle bus is nearer. It will take you to the Aerocity metro station and from there you can take direct metro to New Delhi Railway station.)
Also, note that, if you are going to T3 by the Airport express metro, the metro station is just a floor down from T3 so you can take an elevator and reach T3 easily.
I hope you find the article useful.
Happy and safe travelling!
With lots of love,
If you are travelling from Airport especially Terminal T1 to New Delhi Railway station or vice versa then read on. This article is written for you.
Interestingly, there are two metro options to travel from Airport Terminal T1: 1) New Delhi Metro (regular metro) 2) Airport express line (special metro for airport).
So upon arrival on Delhi Airport Terminal T1, I walked a certain distance to reach Delhi Metro, from where I got a ticket @40 INR for New Delhi Railway station . But I had to change metro at the station called Hauz Khas. My train arrived at Plaform no.2 (The train route is written so there is no confusion) From Hauz Khas, I got train to New Delhi Railway station. Once I reached New Delhi metro station, I exited from GATE 1 and right in front of me I could see the New Delhi Railway station. (Don't exit from GATE 3, it will take you to Ajmeri Gate and the distance to Railway station will increase)
At station, I went towards Platform number 16. Right after the security check in point, on the left side just below the staircase, there is an AMAZING IRCTC Executive lounge which offers buffet. They have both Veg and non Veg options. The veg buffet costs 341 INR. They gave me 30 minutes to have my lunch. The food was very good and delicious and while coming back again to Delhi, I stopped at the same place for my lunch. They have different menu each time which always includes one Soup, Coffee, Salad, Papad, paneer ki sabzi, Roti (Indian bread), Rice, Raita, Dry veg, Dal, and Sweet dish.
These are the photos inside the lounge. They also have bath and other options for day time rest but they charge extra.
So overall it took me about 1 hour to reach New Delhi railway station from Airport.
When I was coming back to Delhi to board a flight again. I stopped by the same Executive lounge near platform 16. After coming out of station, right in front of me, I saw Airport Express line metro; so this time, I took Airport special metro. This Metro goes directly to Terminal T3, but for terminal T1 and T2, you have to get down at Aerocity and take a shuttle bus from there. They have an exclusive counter for airport travellers and also check in facility for Indigo and Spice Jet I suppose (I'm not sure about the airlines offering check in facility at metro station). My flight was arriving at Terminal 1 D, So, I bought the ticket to Aerocity at 50 Rupees. I went at platform 2 and waited for the metro.
I really liked this metro. They had chair seats and even exclusive shelves to keep the luggage. It took 20 minutes to reach Aerocity. On exit, right in front of me was the bus to Terminal T1 so I boarded it. The bus reached Terminal 2 first where we took the bus ticket and then went to Terminal T1-C. This bus service is available between 6 AM to 11 PM only. It took me about 20 minutes to reach T1 from Aerocity. So total about 40-50 minutes. Once at T1 C, I took an elevator and reached the above floor T1 D.
So overall, my metro experience was quite good and cheap!
If you don't mind walking and little hassle of buying tickets, metro is really a good way to commute.
Here are the pros and cons of New Delhi Metro vs Airport expressline Metro
New Delhi Metro:
Pros:
1.At a walking distance from Terminal 1 itself
2. Quite economical
3. New Delhi railway station is right at the exit from Gate 1
4. No worries about traffic
Cons:
1. You have to switch the trains at Hauz Khas and walking distance is painfully long.
2. Sometimes metro is too crowded to get a seat.
Airport express line metro
Pros
1. Direct link to T3, no switching of trains required.
2. For T1 and T2, again the train is direct but have to get down and take a bus at Aerocity
3. Mostly everyone gets a seat because it's an airport exclusive train.
4. comfortable chair seats
5. Allotted space for luggage.
6. No worries about traffic
Cons:
1. Had to get down at Aerocity and take shuttle bus if going to T1 or 2.
2. The bus service is available only from 6 AM to 11 PM.
(From Airport T1, if you want to take airport express line metro, ask for the way to shuttle bus at airport; the bus costs 30 INR . The shuttle bus is nearer. It will take you to the Aerocity metro station and from there you can take direct metro to New Delhi Railway station.)
Also, note that, if you are going to T3 by the Airport express metro, the metro station is just a floor down from T3 so you can take an elevator and reach T3 easily.
I hope you find the article useful.
Happy and safe travelling!
With lots of love,
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