The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has submitted a revised route proposal to extend the Blue Line from Noida Electronic City. The updated plan suggests integrating the proposed latest station in Sahibabad with the Rapid Rail station in that area.

According to the DMRC report, the Sahibabad metro station will be built opposite the existing Sahibabad rapid rail station at Vasundhara. The two stations, located on either side of Link Road, are connected by a pedestrian bridge. This design allows seamless passage of passengers between the Blue Line and the Delhi-Meerut rapid rail corridor without having to leave the premises.

The DMRC submitted the first report for the extension of the Blue Line to Sahibabad in 2018 and in the following years, the plan underwent multiple revisions, mainly aimed at reducing the cost of the project. When construction work on the Rapid Rail line began, the DMRC was given the task of coming up with a plan to integrate the Sahibabad stations.

The current emphasis is on multi-modal integration, as noted by Manvendra Singh, chief engineer, Ghaziabad Development Authority. The 5.2 km metro route ends at Sahibabad and integrates with Namo Bharat station across Link Road.

The proposed metro route, as per the DMRC report, will include five stations across Indirapuram and Vasundhara: Vaibhav Khand, DPS Indirapuram, Shakti Khand, Vasundhara Sector 5 and Sahibabad. The route, which is entirely elevated, will cross Vasundhara, without the need to acquire land, with pillars erected along the medians.

The other branch of the Blue Line, connecting Dwarka to Vaishali, will also connect with the Rapid Rail, particularly at Anand Vihar in Delhi. Vaishali station is conveniently near Sahibabad Rapid Rail station on the same Link Road.

To facilitate funding, the UP government has come up with a cost-sharing formula under which 80% of the estimated expenditure on the metro route (Rs 15.17 billion) is raised through its agencies. The GDA and the Housing Board will equally share the funds committed by the state government, while the remaining 20% will come from the Centre.

Previous disagreements over the distribution of funds between agencies had hindered progress on the subway expansion. Initially, the plan called for the UP government to cover 50% of the project cost, the Center to contribute 20% and other agencies like the GDA, Housing Board and Municipal Corporation to contribute the remaining 30%. However, this plan was rejected by the state government.

Facing a financial crisis, GDA is considering taking a loan from the NCR Planning Board to meet its share of the funding, Singh said.