Noida Metro Aqua Line: As the ridership of the newly launched Noida Metro Aqua Line has been dropping since its launch, the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) plans to link it to the Delhi Metro’s Blue Line. PD Upadhyay, Executive Director, NMRC was recently quoted in an IE report saying that they are hoping to link the Aqua Line with the Delhi Metro Blue Line by March. Given that the connectivity gap will be bridged, the step is likely to increase the ridership of the newly launched Noida Metro Aqua Line.
According to NMRC’s assessment of the ridership, on the first day of the Aqua Line’s launch, the ridership was almost 13,000. However, it has declined since then as the Aqua Line is a standalone metro route so far. It runs between Sector 51 station till Bus Depot in Greater Noida and officials are hoping for a positive increment in the ridership once it is connected to the Delhi Metro Blue Line. The Delhi Metro Blue Line extension is expected to be operational by the next month.
According to the authorities, passengers will have to walk only 100 metres to the Delhi Metro Blue Line station, instead of travelling to Botanical Garden or Noida City Centre from Sector 51. This is likely to have a positive impact on the ridership of the Aqua Line significantly. NMRC also plans to ensure last-mile connectivity to stations as they have launched a number of metro feeder bus services in sectors between 51 and 76 in Noida, which are densely populated. Apart from feeder buses, a multi modal integration (MMI) of e-rickshaws, e-bikes, e-cycles has been planned. Pathways for pedestrians and cycle tracks are already available at a few stations as part of the non-motorised transport system. Under the MMI, foot over bridges to societies and plazas are also being planned.
According to Upadhyay, there are various challenges in the metro construction due to the geography of the area. However despite difficulties, the authorities have managed to set a record by installing 200 girders in a month. The girders installed constitute a stretch of approximately of 2.7 km of the elevated metro tracks. All the metro stations in Aqua Line are also equipped with solar panels in order to save electricity.
He added that the second phase of the Noida Metro Aqua Line is in the approval stage. The second phase of the Aqua Line will have nine metro stations in total.
On January 25, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the 29.7-km Noida-Greater Noida Metro Link. Providing seamless connectivity between Noida and Greater Noida, the route covers 21 metro stations, out of which 15 metro stations fall in Noida namely, Noida sector 51, 50, 76, 101, 81, NSEZ, sectors 83, 137, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148. The rest of the 6 metro stations fall in Greater Noida namely, Knowledge Park 2, Pari Chowk, Alpha 1, Delta 1, GNIDA Office and Bus Depot stations. The minimum fare to travel on this line is Rs 9, while the maximum fare is Rs 50.