Delhi-Noida Airport Namo Bharat RRTS: National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is set to study and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for a new proposed Namo Bharat Rapid Rail (RRTS) route connecting Noida and Delhi Airports.
Under the proposed new route, the route from Surajpur to Noida Phase 2, via City Centre to Sarai Kale Khan RRTS station, will be studied. It will be connected to the previously proposed route of RRTS from Surajpur to Noida International Airport.
The decision was taken in the meeting of officials with the OSD Urban Transport of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Old DPR rejected
Last year, the state government gave its in-principle approval to the DPR, which the Yamuna Authority (YEIDA) got prepared from NCRTC. The DPR was sent to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The ministry had raised objections on ten points and sought answers. The most significant of these was that the proposed route from the RRTS's Siddharth Vihar station in Ghaziabad does not directly connect Delhi and the IGI Noida airport.
The points included plans around Char Murti in Greater Noida West, the proposed Aqua Metro from Noida Sector 51 to Knowledge Park 5 in Greater Noida West, etc. It also suggested that the Aqua Metro route be built separately rather than being integrated into the RRTS.
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NCRTC proposes new corridor
In the meeting held on Wednesday, ACEO Shailendra Bhatia from YEIDA and Noida International Airport Ltd, officials from NMRC, NCRTC and the Ministry participated virtually.
During the meeting, the NCRTC proposed a new route from Surajpur to Sarai Kale Khan via Noida SEZ, City Center, in addition to the previously planned alignment of Ghaziabad-Greater Noida West, Greater Noida East, Ecotech-YEIDA area, and Noida Airport. Noida and Greater Noida West will meet at Surajpur. The meeting decided to conduct a study of the new route and prepare a DPR.
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Old Corridor proposal details
Ghaziabad-Greater Noida West via Noida Airport route is 72.44 km long. The NCRTC that was proposed earlier was in two phases. The first phase starts from Siddharth Vihar in Ghaziabad and goes to Ecotech 6 via Char Murti roundabout, Knowledge Park 5, Surajpur, Jagat Farm, and Pari Chowk in Greater Noida. The second phase goes from Ecotech 6 to Noida Airport via YEIDA's Sector 17, 18, and 21.
11 RRTS and 11 Metro stations were proposed on this route. The total cost of the project was estimated at Rs 20637 crore.
The previously proposed RRTS route did not include Noida, depriving millions of Noida residents of RRTS connectivity.
New proposed route
The new route will connect Noida to the RRTS, and the Noida Authority will also bear a cost share in the project's costs.
If a route from Sarai Kale Khan via Noida and Surajpur is agreed upon to connect Noida International Airport to Delhi and IGI, the Greater Noida West route could be cancelled. This is due to the high project cost and the lack of a direct connection to Delhi.
RRTS from Gurugram to Greater Noida
An RRTS route is also proposed from Gurugram to Greater Noida. It would run from IFFCO Chowk in Gurugram to Greater Noida via Faridabad and Noida and would be approximately 65 km long. In Greater Noida, it will connect to the Ghaziabad-Greater Noida-Noida Airport route at Surajpur.
Speaking about the development, Shailendra Bhatia, ACEO, Yamuna Authority, said, "The NCRTC will study and submit a report. A DPR was previously prepared for the Ghaziabad to Greater Noida West route via Surajpur. Due to its lack of direct connectivity to Delhi, a new route is being considered."