In a major development for the National Capital Region (NCR), a new rapid rail-metro corridor is poised to revolutionize transportation between Noida International Airport (NIA) and Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan.
As published by the The Indian Express, the rapid rail-metro project promises to cut travel time between these locations to under an hour and reduce the trip to Delhi Aerocity to 66 minutes. Spanning 72 kilometers, this corridor will link Ghaziabad RRTS station with NIA in Jewar, marking a significant improvement in regional transit.
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has recently updated the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the corridor, addressing alignment modifications and financial planning. This revised report has been submitted to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) and is now pending final approval from the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet.
The corridor will integrate several major transit systems, including the Delhi-Meerut RRTS at Ghaziabad, the Aqua Line Metro at Char Murti Chowk, and the Noida Airport at the Ground Transport Centre (GTC). It will feature 22 stations- 11 will be dual-purpose RRTS-cum-Metro stations, while the remaining will serve exclusively as Metro stations. Future expansions could add 13 more stations.
The alignment begins at the Ghaziabad RRTS station and follows this route:
- Vishwakarma Road
- Taj Highway
- Char Murti Chowk
- Greater Noida Link Road
- Surajpur-Kasna Road
- Pari Chowk
- Dankaur
- YEIDA Sector 18
- YEIDA Sector 21
- Ground Transport Centre (opposite Terminal 1 at Noida International Airport)
Service Details
The corridor will offer two types of services:
- Fast RRTS Service: Operating at 114 km/h, this service will have limited stops. Expected travel times include:
- NIA to Sarai Kale Khan: 56 minutes
- NIA to Delhi Aerocity: 66 minutes
- NIA to Ghaziabad: 37 minutes
- NIA to Meerut: 72 minutes
- Metro Service: Operating at 46 km/h, this service will stop at all stations, with travel times extended by 13 minutes compared to the fast service.
The corridor will also include:
- Aqua Line Metro Extension: A 10-kilometer extension from Char Murti Chowk to Knowledge Park V.
- Light Rail Transit: A proposed light rail system connecting NIA to YEIDA Sector 21/Film City, which will be incorporated into the corridor.
The corridor is expected to handle about 326,000 passengers daily, with peak hour traffic projected at 8,784 for the 2030-31 fiscal year. By 2054-55, these numbers are anticipated to rise to 757,000 daily passengers and a peak hour peak direction traffic (PHPDT) of 23,957.
The project’s estimated cost stands at INR 20,637 crore, with a five-year construction timeline. The funding model is an equity-sharing arrangement:
- 20% from the central government
- 20% from the Uttar Pradesh state government
- 60% financed through loans from multilateral agencies