Getting from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport to the city

The metro

• Lucknow's red line terminates at the airport, in an underground station in front of terminal 2.
• It opened on 8 March 2019 and is one of the few Indian airport metro links that goes right to the door rather than to a station nearby.
• Trains run from 06:22 to 22:20, every 7 to 8 minutes at peak and every 12 to 15 minutes off peak.
• A Go Smart Card takes 10 per cent off every journey.

Where it goes

• Charbagh railway station: 14.6 km, ten stations, about 26 minutes. That is the main railway station and the connection most arrivals want.
• The published fare for that trip is 50 rupees, 45 with the card. Other guides put it under 40; the fare is charged by distance and the difference is probably a question of which station is being counted.
• The line continues to Hazratganj, the commercial centre, and on to Munshipulia in the north east.
• One line covers the length of the city, so almost nothing needs a change.

Practicalities

• The station is at terminal 2. If your flight uses terminal 3, allow time to get across.
• The last train is 22:20, which is early for a city with late arrivals. Anything after that is a taxi.
• The airport sits at Amausi, 14 to 16 km from Hazratganj, so a road journey is a real one in Lucknow traffic and the metro's fixed 26 minutes is worth a lot.