Direct Metro link between Delhi and Greater Noida cleared

The 14km link will run parallel to the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, once it branches out from the Botanical Garden Metro station.

The Greater Noida authority in its 114th board meeting Friday approved a 14km Metro link that will directly connect the national capital with Greater Noida, via the Blue Line (Dwarka to Noida Electronic City).

The Greater Noida authority in its 114th board meeting Friday approved a 14km Metro link that will directly connect the national capital with Greater Noida, via the Blue Line (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

The link will branch out from Botanical Garden Metro station and end at Noida’s Sector 142 Metro station of the Aqua Line. Although the link will be part of the Delhi Metro network, it will be built by the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) and funded by the Noida authority.

“Our objective in approving this link was to provide direct connectivity between Delhi and Greater Noida. As of now, the Aqua Line connects Noida with Greater Noida, but there is no direct connectivity between Greater Noida and Delhi. The new link will cut travel time and provide relief to commuters,” Anup Chandra Pandey, chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh, who is also the chairman of the Greater Noida authority, said.

“The Botanical Garden to Sector 142 Metro Link will provide additional connectivity between Delhi and Greater Noida. The existing connectivity via Aqua Line connects the central part of Noida and takes longer to reach Delhi. But once this new link becomes operational, reaching Delhi from Greater Noida will be easier as it will cut travel time,” Pandey said. The board has authorised the Noida Metro Rail Corporation to prepare a detailed project report for the link. The NMRC owns 29.707km Aqua Line.

“The NMRC will prepare the detailed project report and economic feasibility report for this link. As per the estimate, we would need Rs1,500-2000 crore to build this project,” Pandey said.

The Greater Noida owes ₹5,000 crore to various government agencies, including the Noida authority and banks. “We do not have funds to build this project and we would request the Noida authority to fund this project as it falls in its jurisdiction,” Narendra Bhooshan, chief executive officer, Greater Noida authority, said.