The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has requested the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for a new 16-kilometre metro line. This proposed corridor will connect Vaishali, the terminal station on the Blue Line, to Gokulpuri in northeast Delhi via Hindon Civil Terminal, which currently serves as Delhi-NCR's second airport.
Proposed Corridor Details
The corridor is expected to have seven stations, passing through Sahibabad, Mohan Nagar, Pasunda, Hindon Civil Terminal, and Gagan Vihar. According to a GDA official, in July last year, DMRC proposed 18 metro extension projects under Phase 5 of the metro expansion plan, three of which were in Ghaziabad. The GDA has now asked DMRC to prepare the DPR for the Vaishali-Gokulpuri corridor, with submission expected within a couple of months.
Extension of Initial Plan
DMRC's initial Phase-5 plan included a 12-13 kilometre corridor linking Gokulpuri on the Pink Line to Arthala on the Red Line via Hindon Civil Terminal. However, GDA officials told the Times of India that they wanted the corridor extended to improve connectivity for over five lakh residents of Indirapuram, Vasundhara, and Vaishali. Currently, the Hindon Civil Terminal is about five kilometres from the nearest metro stations—Dilshabad Garden and Major Mohit Sharma Rajendra Nagar, both on the Red Line. While the Sahibabad RRTS station offers a high-speed alternative, passengers largely depend on cabs and auto-rickshaws for last-mile access.
Other Proposed Metro Corridors
Two other metro corridors are planned in Ghaziabad. One is a three-kilometre extension from Shaheed Sthal New Bus Adda on the Red Line to Ghaziabad railway station. The second is the long-pending five-kilometre Noida Electronic City-Sahibabad link, which would serve Indirapuram, Shakti Khand, and Vasundhara's Sector 5, with five stations in total. Together, the three corridors would add roughly 25 kilometres to the metro network, at an estimated cost of Rs 7,500 crore, based on a per-kilometre construction cost of Rs 300 crore.
Funding and Challenges
The Noida Electronic City-Sahibabad corridor has been stalled since 2018 despite a DPR of Rs 1,873 crore having been prepared, largely due to a funding shortfall. GDA had earlier sought Rs 2,441 crore under the 16th Finance Commission for metro projects in the city. However, officials noted that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' directive to prepare DPRs has revived prospects for central and state funding. "Funding was an issue, but now that the ministry has directed the DPR exercise, the projects could take off through central and state government grants," an official said.
