Noida Metro expands parking facilities at five more stations

The Noida Metro Rail Corporation has added parking services at five new stations to help commuters using the Aqua Line between Noida and Greater Noida or the Delhi Metro, officials familiar with the matter said on Sunday. Previously, the service was only available at three Metro stations: Sector 51 in Noida, Sector 137 in Greater Noida, and Sector Delta 1 in Greater Noida.

The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC), which manages the 30-km Aqua Line, will begin parking services at five additional stations in Noida’s Sector 51, Sector NSEZ, Sector 142, Greater Noida’s Pari Chowk, and Sector 142 on May 1.

“NMRC plans to provide parking facilities at all 21 of its Metro stations as ridership grows and demand for parking space grows,” said Ritu Maheshwari, NMRC’s managing director. NMRC built and operates the 29.7-km-long Aqua Line Metro, which connects Noida’s Sector 51 to Greater Noida’s Delta 1 area.

Each parking station can accommodate at least 300 vehicles, according to NMRC. “Because these stations did not have parking, commuters had to take a taxi or an auto-rickshaw to get there. We can now use our vehicles for last-mile connectivity and easily access the Metro. Therefore, NMRC must provide parking facilities at all Metro stations as soon as possible,” said Poonam Kumar, a daily commuter and sector 118 resident.

Before January 2023, the average daily rider on Aqua Line was 40,000. NMRC reported 56,168 passengers using the Metro on January 16, 2023. According to officials, the number of commuters has increased since then, prompting NMRC to create parking spaces at busy stations surrounded by clusters of housing complexes.

NMRC has chosen to collect user fees through automatic machines to maintain transparency and provide hassle-free services to commuters at these parking facilities, according to officials. NMRC charges motorbikes 15 for six hours, 25 for six to twelve hours, and 30 for parking between 5am and 11pm. A monthly pass for a motorcycle owner costs 500. For four-wheelers, the charges are 25 for six hours, 50 for six to twelve hours, 55 between 5am and 11pm, and 1,100 for a monthly pass.Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, inaugurated the Aqua Line in January 2019. It has 21 Metro stations in total.

NMRC intends to connect the Aqua Line to the Delhi Metro’s Blue Line via a 300-metre-long air-conditioned footbridge. The distance between the Sector 51 Metro station on the Aqua Line and the Sector 51 Metro station on the Delhi Metro Blue Line is approximately 300 metres. Commuters using the two Metro corridors must currently walk to change stations. “Once the foot-over bridge connects these Metro stations in a year, ridership on the Aqua Line will increase further, and we will increase parking services,” said an NMRC official familiar with the development.