Daily passenger ridership on Noida Metro’s Aqua Line has increased by more than 20% since the long-awaited skywalk connecting Sector 51 and Sector 52 metro stations was opened to the public on August 28, officials said on Monday.
As per data by the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) average daily passenger numbers have increased from around 70,000 in August this year to around 85,000 so far in September.
“The number of commuters has increased after we opened the skywalk for public use. The skywalk was initially planned as a single-pillar structure, but the discovery of an underground metro cable during excavation led to a redesign with a two-column support system. As per our data, normally 85,000 commuters use this station per day now against earlier 70,000 per day before the skywalk was commissioned. Later, a beam was found to be obstructing its entry at Sector 51 station, prompting the Noida authority to modify the design and extend the skywalk further. The project cost also increased from ₹ 25 crore to ₹ 33 crore, following the design changes, officials explained.
This shows there is an increase of about 21% commuters due to the skywalk opening,” Krishna Karunesh, chief executive officer of Noida authority said.
