Noida-Greater Noida Metro clocks highest ridership with over 33,000 passengers post Covid-19

Services of the Aqua Line Metro, which connects the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida in western Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district, were shut for one month during the second wave of the pandemic last year.

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Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Noida-Greater Noida Metro recorded its greatest single-day ridership of 33,352 passengers. The Aqua Line metro also had its highest daily average ridership in May, with approximately 28,000 people, according to Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) authorities. 

Services of the Aqua Line, which connects the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida in western Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district, were shut for one month during the second wave of the pandemic last year.

The service was resumed for passengers in June 2021, with over 2,300 people taking the ride on the first day. The Aqua Line was shut for passengers for a longer period during the first wave in 2020 as well.

"Ridership of 33,352 passengers was recorded on May 18, which is the highest in the period after COVID-19 lockdowns. Average daily ridership has almost doubled in the last four months," NMRC Managing Director Ritu Maheshwari said.

In 2022, the Aqua Line's month average daily ridership in January stood at 13,124, in February at 18,482, in March at 23,266 and in April at 26,162, she said. During May, the daily average ridership has been 27,936 so far (till May 18), she added.

"This is the highest ever daily average ridership for any month since the introduction of commercial services on Aqua Line i.E January 2019," Maheshwari said.

Operated by the NMRC, the Aqua Line runs over 29.7 km through 21 stations between Noida Sector 51 and Depot Station in Greater Noida. It was built at the cost of Rs 5,503 crore and opened to the public in January 2019. Currently, it has an average daily ridership of over 16,000 passengers, according to NMRC officials.

To date, the metro rail clocked its highest single-day ridership of 39,451 passengers on September 19, 2019, according to NMRC officials.

With inputs from PTI