Noida Metro stations on three proposed routes will be redesigned as four-storey structures with commercial complexes, allowing passengers to access shopping facilities within the stations, according to a report by Live Hindustan – NCR. The Noida Metro Rail Corporation has decided to increase the height of the stations without changing their existing footprint.
The revised design will apply to stations on the Greater Noida Depot-Bodaki route, the Botanical Garden-Sector 142 route and the Sector 51-Greater Noida West route ending at Char Murti. The stations will retain an approximate length of 140 metres and width of 30 metres, while two additional floors will be added to the original design.
The proposed commercial component is intended to create shopping complexes at the stations. The plan would make Noida the first city in India with four-storey metro stations, the report said, citing NMRC officials. The concept has been inspired by Bengaluru, where an Infosys-funded metro station was linked to the company’s campus through a skywalk after the company provided Rs 100 crore to the metro management.
NMRC plans to develop the new stations through a public-private partnership model. Each station is expected to cost around Rs 45 crore to Rs 50 crore, with the selected private company responsible for bearing the construction cost. In return, the company would receive the shopping complex on lease for 30 years and would be permitted to sub-lease the commercial space.
As an alternative, the private partner may be offered co-branding rights for 30 years. Companies participating in the arrangement would have to choose between the long-term commercial lease and co-branding option. NMRC has invited expressions of interest from 60 multinational companies with annual turnovers of at least Rs 1,000 crore to obtain suggestions for the model.
The changes come as Greater Noida West residents continue to seek better public transport connectivity. The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the Aqua Line from Noida Sector 51 to Sector 4 in Greater Noida West, near Gaur Chowk. The approved corridor will be 8.449 kilometres long and is expected to cost approximately Rs 2,390 crore.
Five elevated metro stations will be built on the approved extension. The project is expected to improve public transport access for residents of Greater Noida West, although the supplied report does not provide a construction start date or completion deadline.
Residents and local groups have also demanded that the Greater Noida West extension be taken forward to Knowledge Park 5. Rashmi Pandey, president of the Gautam Buddha Nagar Vikas Samiti, welcomed the approval but said the corridor should be extended to Knowledge Park 5. The organisation’s secretary, Anup Kumar Soni, described the cabinet approval as the result of collective efforts.
The immediate implementation milestones are the selection of private partners for the proposed station complexes and the construction process for the approved 8.449-kilometre Aqua Line extension. NMRC’s response to the expressions of interest and the subsequent project schedule will determine how the commercial station design is taken forward.
