Noida: From today, avail Aqua Line trains every 10 minutes

NOIDA : There is good news for Noida residents. The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) is going to increase the frequency of metro rakes in its sole running service, Aqua Line, from Monday. Instead of 15 minute intervals, the trains will now be available after 10 minutes.

NMRC executive director PD Upadhyaya said the increased frequency will be applicable only on weekdays. “Aqua Line metro trains will be available at 10 minute intervals, from 8am to 11am and again from 5pm to 8pm, but only between Monday and Friday,” he said. The 29.7km-long Aqua Line corridor comprises of 21 metro stations starting from Noida Sector 51 to Depot Station in Greater Noida.




Upadhyaya said NMRC is taking all measures in a systematic way to facilitate commute between Noida and Greater Noida. He said NMRC will also start parking facilities at 10 metro stations — sectors 51, 76, 101 and 81 in Noida and sectors 137, 142, Knowledge Park, Pari Chowk, Alpha 1 & Delta in Greater Noida — from Monday.

DMRC has also scheduled CMRS inspection of the Blue Line metro extension from City Centre to Electronic City for Monday. It is expected that once the extension to the Blue Line becomes functional — which is likely to happen by March-end — Aqua Line ridership will see a sharp rise. So far, Aqua Line records 11,000-12,000 commuters on weekdays and around 8,000 on weekends.

Sector 51 resident Jitendra Singh said the interconnectivity between Blue Line’s Sector 52 station and Aqua Line’s Sector 51 station will still be an issue. “NMRC is developing a 300m-long pathway to connect the two stations, which is too long for commuters to walk. The Authority should instead develop a skywalk and connect the two stations,” he said.

Harendra Bhati, general secretary of the RWA of Sector Beta 1 in Greater Noida, said increasing frequency of metro is good news for residents. “Increased frequency of Aqua Line rakes will benefit people, specially students and office-goers. We’re planning to meet officials of Greater Noida Authority and NMRC to propose a new line from Botanic Garden to Sector 144. This would ensure people can commute from Botanic Garden to Pari Chowk, without having to take a circuitous route via Sector 51,” he said.