Noida: With more data centres, manufacturing units and multinational companies coming up along Noida Expressway, the city is gearing up for a major metro network expansion. Two extensions of the Aqua Line — an 11.56-km corridor from Sector 142 to Botanical Garden and a 2.6-km link from Depot station to Boraki — are expected to strengthen connectivity within Noida and Greater Noida, improve access to Delhi and facilitate multimodal transport.A third extension, expected to take Noida Metro to Greater Noida West, received Union Cabinet’s approval on Wednesday. The project is likely to be ready by 2031.Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) heavy civil infrastructure business has secured the contract from Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) for the design and construction of Boraki and Botanical Garden extensions. It is now mobilising construction teams, engineers and machinery, while setting up site offices, casting yards and storage facilities. Preparatory work will also include identifying and shifting underground utilities, pipelines and other obstructions along the proposed alignments.“The extensions are poised to become a landmark urban transit project, significantly enhancing regional connectivity and commuter accessibility. The project will play a crucial role in supporting Noida’s expanding urban landscape and is to be completed within a stringent timeline of 36 months,” an L&T spokesperson said. This roughly translates to 2030.A Rajya Sabha reply on March 23, 2026, had specified a 48-month completion period for the Botanical Garden corridor. Union Cabinet had approved the corridor in Feb 2026. For Depot-Boraki, the timeline was set at three years from award of the project, which meThe Sector 142-Botanical Garden corridor will have eight elevated stations — Botanical Garden, Sector 44, Sector 96 (Noida Authority office), Sector 97, Sector 105, Sector 108 (police commissionerate), Sector 93 and Panchsheel Balak Inter College in Sector 91. Estimated to cost Rs 2,254 crore, the project is expected to be completed within three years.The extension is strategically important as Botanical Garden is a major interchange for Delhi Metro’s Blue and Magenta lines. The new corridor will connect this interchange to several residential and commercial sectors along Noida Expressway, giving commuters from Noida and Greater Noida better access to Delhi’s metro network. It will also improve connectivity to Magenta Line, which provides access to Indira Gandhi International Airport.The shorter Depot-Boraki extension, estimated to cost Rs 416 crore, will have two stations — Junpat and Boraki. It will connect the existing Aqua Line to the proposed Multimodal Transport Hub (MMTH) at Boraki village, which is planned to house an inter-state bus terminal and a railway passenger terminal. The extension is expected to facilitate transfers between metro, rail and bus services.The existing 29.7-km Aqua Line connects Noida’s Sector 51 with Depot station in Greater Noida through 21 stations. It recorded an average daily ridership of 79,472 passengers in October.Noida is currently connected to Delhi’s metro network through Blue and Magenta lines. Once the two extensions become operational, the combined metro network in Noida and Greater Noida will span 71.8 km.
