Botanical Garden arm of Aqua Line to link Pari Chowk with DMRC grid

Noida/New Delhi: Noida received a major metro connectivity boost with the long-awaited Aqua Line extension from Sector 142 to Botanical Garden getting the Union Cabinet's approval on Saturday. The 11.6-km extension will directly link the expressway sectors and Pari Chowk in Greater Noida to the Delhi metro grid and turn Botanical Garden into a triple-interchange, bringing together DMRC's Blue and Magenta lines with Noida's Aqua Line. The extension will plug a long-standing connectivity gap for the fast-growing areas on the 25km Noida Expressway, home to IT and ITES parks, corporate offices, educational institutions and residential highrises. Once operational, commuters from these sectors will be able to travel directly to Delhi's domestic airport via the Magenta Line. And with Pari Chowk just 40km from Jewar, the corridor will, in the longer term, also be an important piece in connectivity planning to link IGI and the soon-to-be-launched Noida International Airport. The Rs 2,254-crore project will feature eight elevated stations — Botanical Garden and sectors 96, 44, 105, 93, 97, 108 and 91 — and is slated for completion within four years. Funding will be shared by the Centre, UP govt and Noida Authority. Announcing the decision, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the new corridor will give Noida and Greater Noida 61.6 km of active metro rail network. The approval brings closure to a prolonged clearance process. Noida Metro Rail Corporation submitted the detailed project report to the state govt on Jan 5, 2024. After receiving state approval in June, the proposal was forwarded to the ministry of housing and urban affairs in July that year. It had sought revisions before final approval from the Cabinet.The corridor is expected to ease mounting traffic pressure on Noida Expressway as well as save time for metro commuters. To get to the DMRC grid, commuters on the Aqua Line need to go to Sector 51, walk to the adjacent Sector 52 Blue Line station, and then take a train towards Delhi. Reaching Botanical Garden by metro from Sector 142 currently takes around 45 minutes. The new corridor is likely to bring it down to around 15, officials said.Several commercial and institutional hubs also stand to benefit. Business districts such as Advant Business Park in Sector 142, along with major corporate campuses in sectors 126, 132, 145 and 157 are expected to see improved workforce mobility. Educational institutions, including Amity University in Sector 125, will also gain direct metro access.Deepanshu Pahuja, a resident of Sector 76 who works at an IT firm in Sector 142, said he depends on Aqua Line for his commute. Travelling onwards to Delhi, however, is a challenge. "I have to reach Sector 51 and then change to Sector 52. The skywalk between the two stations is still under construction, which makes the interchange inconvenient," he said. From Sector 52, he boards the Blue Line to Botanical Garden. "Covering barely 12 km takes a long time," he added.Ejaz Ahmad, who lives in Delhi's Jamia Nagar and works in Sector 135 along Noida Expressway, said commuting to his office is difficult due to the lack of seamless public transport connectivity. "I take the Magenta Line to Botanical Garden. From there, I sometimes travel to Sector 52, switch to Sector 51, and then board another metro to Sector 142. The need for separate smart cards by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and the Noida Metro Rail Corporation adds to the frustration," he said. "The entire journey takes over an hour."Ahmad said he often opts for a shuttle from Botanical Garden to his office. "If the shuttle isn't available, I book a cab, which usually costs Rs 300-400," he added.Neetu Sharma, a resident of Delhi's Preet Vihar area, who works in an IT firm located in Sector 142, said she is fully dependent on shuttle to reach office from Botanical Garden. "I do not take the Sector 52-51 route to reach office as it is long and time consuming. I rather take a bus to reach office if shuttle is not available. If the new route is developed, it will save time and money," she said.Currently, the 29-km Aqua Line connects Sector 51 in Noida with Depot Station in Greater Noida, while the DMRC operates a 17.7km Blue Line stretch within Noida. With the new extension and the recently approved 2.6-km spur from the Depot Station to the Boraki multimodal hub, Noida's metro reach will see much-needed expansion towards populated areas."The Botanical Garden link will finally allow seamless travel across Delhi, Noida and Greater Noida," said Alok Singh, a resident of Greater Noida. "But govt must also fast-track the Sector 51-Knowledge Park-V line, especially to ease the chronic congestion around Gaur Chowk."