NIAL to connect airport with NCR cities via BRTS

According to reports, there will be high-speed road connectivity between the sprawl of the National Capital Region (NCR) and the future Noida International Airport (NIA) near Jewar in Uttar Pradesh. The Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL) has begun work on a project to provide a bus rapid transit system (BRTS) between the upcoming airport and NCR cities of Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gurgaon.

A consultant will be hired as part of the plan to determine the routes and create a feasibility plan after researching similar systems that are operational in local, national, and international cities. “As a part of the detailed project report, the consultant’s job would be to plan BRTS corridors and allied infrastructure, fleet size and bus technology. They will also give reports on the costing and economic viability of the project, besides the source of funding, business model and financial viability,” according to an NIAL representative. Most likely, the DPR will be completed by September of this year. To recruit the consultant, a call for proposals has been put out there. The deadline for applications is April 17.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a top-notch, bus-based transit system with metro-level capacity that offers quick, comfortable, and economical services. It achieves this by offering dedicated lanes, aligning landmark stations and busways with the middle of the road whenever possible, collecting fares off- board, and running operations quickly and frequently. To ensure seamless connectivity with neighbouring cities and IGI airport, the government is looking into a multitude of transit solutions, including the metro, quick rail, and pod taxis.

A Metro Rail will connect Noida International Airport and Delhi's IGI Airport through New Delhi Station as part of the state government's ambition to give last-mile metro connection until the NIA. New Delhi Railway Station and the IGI Airport are currently connected by the Airport Express Line, also known as the "Orange" Line.

The new greenfield NIA airport would be located near Jewar in the Uttar Pradesh district of Gautam Buddha Nagar. It would improve connection to and from Delhi-NCR, Noida, and Western Uttar Pradesh on both the domestic and international levels. The airport, which when finished will be the biggest in India, will be built in four phases, include two connected terminals, and have a 70 million passenger capacity yearly.

The first phase, which spans 1,334 hectares, will include a terminal for both local and foreign travellers, a freight centre, and one runway. According to the concession agreement, the first phase, which will accommodate 12 million passengers annually, must be finished and operational by September 2024.