DELHI METRO @ GLANCE

Luggage
Apart from the Airport line you are not supposed to carry large items of luggage. In the busy periods it would be totally impractical to attempt to do so.

Accessibility 
Delhi metro claims to have full disabled access. Stations have escalators and lifts which in my experience are usually working. The train floors are level with the platforms although there can be a gap.

Rules 
There are scrillions of these with spot fines. No eating, drinking, singing, sitting on the floor, sitting on the roof, guns, ammunition, etc etc which help make the stations and trains pretty civilised.

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More to come!

Also for newbies: count your change.

And keep careful track of the little plastic token you've been given to swipe over a scanner to get past the entrance gate. As Dave W says, you have to insert the token into a slot to get out. But the tokens have the most amazing way of getting lost amongst your pocket stuff.

I thought I would pitch in:

For Women: The first coach in most trains is reserved for women and women may want to use that when traveling

Travel light in Delhi when using the Metro. There are separate baggage check lines which are often longer than the regular checking line.

Having a Metro Prepaid Card is a much better than thing buying tokens each time. You save around 10% fare, and 50% time.

Recharge the metro prepaid card at small stations and avoid time.

What may appear as close on the metro may not necessarily mean you save time and money.

Case is Point is if you live in South Delhi (GK, Kalkaji, South Ex) and need to goto Gurgaon, its better to get to the AIIMS, Hauz Khas / Saket / Green Park metro stations in an auto rickshaw or by bus or walk than take the metro nearest to your origin to first Central Secretariat.

Carry hand sanitizer as you will have to hold rails, pillars, and use support in an overcrowded system.

Minimum purchase is Rs100/- which will give you a card with a 50/- refundable deposit and 50/- of travel. Using a travel card gives you a small discount on the single fare. These cards can be topped up in multiples of Rs 100/- although at some stations this can only be done at machines.
There are also 1-day and 3-day Tourist Cards which allow unlimited travel and cost rs 100/- or 250/- plus a 50/- refundable deposit. Each traveller must have their own card. Delhi Metro Travel cards are also valid on the Gurgaon Rapid metro.
A single journey can include changing lines as long as you do not exit the ticketed area. Both tokens and cards are held against a reader pad to open the in gates. At the end of the journey tokens are inserted into a slot and cards are touched against a reader to open the out gates.


Airport Metro Express.
Has had a bit of a chequered history but is currently running again, connecting the Airport and NDLS. The fare structure is separate and higher than the main metro system. Tickets and travel cards are not interchangeable. There is more about Airport metro fares at #24 below.

Delhi Metro Museum
This is located at Patel Chowk station. More details in this link. http://www.delhionline.in/City-Guide/Metro-Museum-in-Delhi 

This post is based on our usage of the system during 4 visits to Delhi in recent years. Please respond if you see any errors or have information to add.

Safety
First time visitors to Delhi often ask whether the system is safe. There is a very high presence of security personnel and police. Everybody entering the stations must go through an airport type scanner and their bags are also scanned. There are separate security queues for males and females. Vigilance does not end at these checks. Try taking a photo on the platform and you will soon hear a whistle and a shout. We may think this to be oversensitive but the “No photography” rule is strictly enforced which accounts for the dodgy quality of the illustrations here.
Every train has a “Ladies Only” coach at one end, which is clearly marked on the platform. Ladies may take boys up to the age of 12 in this coach with them. There are seats in each coach marked as reserved for Ladies and the “Aged & Infirm”. When the trains are not too busy young men quite often give these seats up if they think that you fit one of the above categories.
The trains can get very busy and crowded but no more uncomfortable than London’s Piccadilly line in the rush hour. The air conditioning is more effective in Delhi. On train announcements are made in Hindi and English and also displayed in both languages on magic message boards. Some stations, such as Rajiv Chowk, have barriers and crowd marshals on the platforms. Not all users of the system subscribe to the view that it is best to let people off the train before they try to get on. There can be some jostling when boarding and leaving trains.
You need to take normal precautions against petty crime such as pick pocketing which thrive in crowded places. Just as with most Mass Rapid Transport systems there are occasional breakdowns and power outages but the system seems to cope quite well with these.

When can I travel? 
Trains start running at around 6 a.m. and run until around 11 p.m. Frequencies are every 12 minutes or better – at peak periods there are only 2 or 3 minute gaps between trains. There are boards over each platform which display the destination of the next train and how long it will be before it arrives.

Links to other transport.
Three of Delhi’s more important railway stations can be accessed by metro. New Delhi ( NDLS) and Anand Vihar Terminus (ANVT) have their own stations, Old Delhi (DLI) is accessible from Chandi Chowk metro by underground walkway. Likewise bus terminals at Kashmere Gate and Anand Vihar can be accessed from their respective metro stations. The Airport is linked to NDLS by an express line. See below.

Where can I go?
I can’t pretend to have been everywhere that the metro covers but here are a few starters. The North – South Yellow line will take you to Chandni Chowk, Rajiv Chowk (CP), Central Secretariat for Lutyens Delhi, INA for the INA market and Dilli Haat and Qutab Minar. For the latter get off the train at Saket station and take an auto. This line will even take you out to Gurgaon. At Sikanderpur there is an interchange with the Gurgaon Rapid Metro which opened in November 2013.
The Lilac line from Central Secretariat will take you to Khan Market or Lajpat Nagar where the market is a short trip on a cycle rickshaw. The East-West Blue line will take you out to Noida.
There is a useful link here New Metro lines and tourist destinations Outside the city centre much of the track is elevated and gives you some great views.

How do I get tickets?
Booking windows are before the security scanners. You can buy a token for a single trip which currently costs between Rs 8/- and 30/- depending on distance travelled. Major stations have information desks where you can buy Travel Cards.

All major tourist destinations and markets will be connected by Metro from August/Sept

TOURIST SPOTS
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Akshardham Temple - 100 m from Akshardham metro station
Qutub Minar - 100 m from Qutub Minar metro station
Red fort - 100 m from Chandni Chowk metro station
Jama Masjid - 500 m from Chandni Chowk metro station
Old Fort(Purana Qila)- 300 m from Pragati Maidan metro station
Humayun's Tomb - 3 km from Pragati Maidan Metro station
Lotus (Bahai) Temple - 50 m from Kalkaji metro station
Safdarjung Tomb - 50 m from Jor Bagh metro station
Lodhi Gardens - 100m from Lodhi Colony metro station

MARKETS
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Connaught Place - 0 km from Rajiv Chowk metro station
Janpath/Cottage Industries Emporium - 100 m from pallika Bazaar exit of Rajiv Chowk station.
INA /Dilli Haat - 0 km from INA metro station
Khan Market - 0 km from Khan Market metro station
Chandni Chowk - Chandni Chowk metro station
Sarojini Nagar Market - 2 km from INA metro station
Lajpat Nagar Market - 500 m from Lajpat Nagar Metro station
Defence Colony Market - 200m from Lajpat nagar market
Nehru Place - 0 km from Nehru Place station.
Greater Kailash N- Block market - 500 m from Moolchand Metro station.
South Extension Market - 200 m from AIIMS /INA metro station
Hauz Khas Village - 200 m from Hauz Khas station
Mall clusters of Gurgaon / Noida and Shivaji district centres fed by DT City Centre / Sec 18 / Rajouri Garden metro stations respectively.

the "Nehru Place Bus Terminal" is much closer to the "Kalkaji Mandir" station than to the "Nehru Place" station. The Qutb Minar is more easily accessible from "Saket" station than from the station carrying its name. Getting from "Hauz Khas" station to Hauz Khas village entailsCrossing an Indian Road