Flights in a month, NMRC pushes for Aqua Line extension

Noida: With commercial operations at Noida International Airport scheduled to begin on June 15, the plan to ensure multimodal transport integration took a step forward on Thursday. Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has issued a tender to appoint a developer for the extension of two metro corridors.

The 11.5-km Botanical Garden to Sector 142 stretch is expected to be completed in four years, and the 2.6-km Depot-Boraki link will be built within three years. NMRC expects a daily ridership of 33,000 on Depot-Bodaki route and over 1 lakh on Botanical Garden - Sector 142 route by 2031.

With growing industrial and residential activities across the area, this expansion is being seen as a major push towards strengthening last-mile connectivity in the region.

The Botanical Garden-Sector 142 corridor will have eight elevated stations connecting major office hubs and residential sectors. The proposed stations on this route are Botanical Garden, Sector 44, Sector 96 (Noida Authority office), Sector 97, Sector 105, Sector 108 (police commissionerate), Sector 93 and Panchsheel Balak Inter College in Sector 91. The project will cost around Rs 2,254 crore.

The corridor is strategically important, as it will directly link Botanical Garden — a key interchange station connecting the DMRC's Blue Line and Magenta Line — with prominent sectors in Noida. The extension is also expected to provide easier metro connectivity to the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The shorter Depot-Boraki route, estimated to cost Rs 416 crore, will include two stations — Junpat and Boraki. The stretch is considered crucial as it will connect the proposed multimodal transport hub at Boraki village, which will also house an inter-state bus terminal and a railway terminal.

Noida Authority CEO and NMRC MD Krishna Karunesh said, “Now that we have issued the tender, the project work will start.”

Although the plans for these two metro corridors have progressed, NMRC's third ambitious stretch remains in limbo. A resident of Sector Alpha 1 in Greater Noida, Alok Singh, said, “The need for metro is more in Greater Noida West. Thousands of people get stuck in jams at Gaur Chowk during peak hours. Despite our repeated requests and protests, there has been no update on that route.”

NMRC earlier planned to develop 11 stations connecting Sector 51 to Knowledge Park V via Greater Noida West. However, due to the proposed rapid rail route from Ghaziabad to Jewar, via Gaur Chowk, NMRC's proposal did not get clearance from the Centre. NMRC has now decided to make a revised detailed project report for metro extension from Sector 51 to Gaur Chowk.

April 2026 data shows that the Aqua Line connects Noida Sector 51 with Depot Station in Greater Noida and records around 65,290 passengers daily .