No connectivity between metro's Aqua, Blue lines may keep commuters away, feel locals

Unavailability of connectivity between the soon-to-be-inaugurated Aqua metro line with the Delhi Metro's Blue line may keep away a majority of daily commuters who travel from Noida to the national capital, according to residents.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is scheduled to inaugurate the Noida-Greater Noida metro rail line on Friday, Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) officials said Wednesday.

"The inauguration of Aqua line is a half-baked project and may not serve the desired purpose as it will not connect Noida with Delhi. Concerned authorities must provide connectivity of Aqua line with Delhi Metro so that more people can travel," said Pankaj, a resident of Sector 137.

He said after deboarding the Aqua line one has to travel few kilometres to take Delhi Metro's Blue line at Noida City Centre metro station.

"It is a badly conceived idea of not providing the connectivity. There has been a long pending demand of residents of Noida and Greater Noida to connect the metro with the Blue line. I do not understand why there has been no connectivity between the Aqua line and the Blue line?," asked Sanjeev Singh, another resident.

The Noida-Greater Noida rail corridor, known as the Aqua line, would run between Sector 51 in Noida and the Depot Station in Greater Noida.

"The distance from Sector 51 to Noida City Centre is of more than six to seven kilometres at least. How do Noida metro authority expect commuters to cover this distance? The commuters would rather avoid taking Aqua line till it gets connected to the Blue line," said Vivek, who works close to Noida Sector 142 metro station.

Thousands of people commute between Delhi and Noida daily.

There are a total of 21 stations on the corridor -- 15 of them in Noida and six in Greater Noida -- spread over a distance of 29.7-km.

Noida metro officials are tight-lipped over the issue.

"As of now there is no connectivity between Aqua metro line with the Blue line," a senior NMRC official said, requesting anonymity.