The Blue Line extension from Noida City Centre to Noida Electronic City will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and the passenger operations will begin after 4 p.m.
A 200-metre long “walkway” between Blue Line and the Noida-Greater Noida line will be thrown open to the public on the same day once the Blue line extension becomes operational. The pathway will connect the Noida Sector 52 station on the existing Blue Line and Noida Sector 51 station on the Aqua Line.
Officials of the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) said that e-rickshaw services between the two stations will be started as well, which will be free of service for commuters.
“The walkway is approximately 220 metres in length and there will be a dedicated section where the e-rickshaws will ply. Five e-rickshaws on either end will be stationed and commuters can travel between the two stations at free of cost,” said an NMRC official.
Currently, e-rickshaws ply between the Noida City Centre metro on the Blue Line station and Noida Sector 51 station, which is the first station on the Aqua Line. However, commuters are charged a fare of ₹10 for travel between the stations.
“Once the e-rickshaws start plying between Noida Sectors 51 and 52, services from Noida City Centre will be discontinued,” the official said.
However, the Blue Line and the Aqua Line are not directly connected and commuters will have to either walk or take the e-rickshaws to be connected to the respective lines. Further, passengers cannot use metro cards or tokens on the two lines interchangeably as the systems are not connected.
The 30-kilometre long Aqua Line connecting Noida and Greater Noida started passenger operations on January 26.
