New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS): The swanky high-speed Airport Metro Express will not curtail its services on Diwali Wednesday, an official said.

"The Airport Metro trains will operate as per their original schedule from 5.30 a.m to 11.30 p.m.," a Reliance Infrastructure official said.

The Reliance Infrastructure-led consortium which runs the 20 km Metro line is expecting a huge rush on the festival day.

"We are not curtailing our operations as we are expecting a huge rush, as many people who are planning to spend Diwali and the long weekend with their families will go to the airport and even outstation passengers will return to city," the official said.

According to the official, the daily ridership of the Airport Metro has gone up from 4,000 to 18,000 in the last six months.

Built at a cost of Rs.5,700 crore, the Airport Express line has six stations -- New Delhi Railway Station, Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Aero City, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Dwarka Sec-21.

Delhi Metro is responsible for the civil work and Reliance Infrastructure will operate the line for 30 years and share the revenues.