The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and the Noida and Greater Noida authorities signed an MoU on Saturday for two key Metro corridors in the twin cities. The two routes - Noida City Centre to Greater Noida and Noida City Centre to Sector 62 - will provide relief to thousand of commuters.

The MoU was signed between DMRC director of business development S D Sharma and Rama Raman, chairperson and CEO of Noida and Greater Noida Authorities in the presence of DMRC's managing director, Mangu Singh, and other senior officials.

Laying the foundation for the commencement of the two proposed routes, two cheques worth Rs 29.45 crore were handed over to DMRC by Raman. The two routes are expected to cost a total of Rs 7,413 crores. While 6.675-km-long link from Noida City Centre to Sector 62 is estimated to cost Rs 1,880 crore, the 29.707-km-long Noida-Greater Noida corridor will cost Rs 5,533 crore.

"After Delhi, UP is where the largest Metro network is being put on track. As Noida and Greater Noida urbanize at an unprecedented pace, we want to improve the two cities' transport systems," said Raman.

Officials said that the cost of the Noida Metro line, as per the Detailed Project Report will be shared on an 80-20 basis between UP government and the Centre. The Noida-Greater Noida will be funded by the two authorities.

Noida Metro Rail Company (NMRC), which was recently granted approval by the state government, will be in charge of transportation, connectivity and movement of the 29.7-km track between Noida and Greater Noida.

The Greater Noida Metro track will have 22 stations, of which 13 will be at ground level, while seven stations will be elevated. Two stations at Knowledge Park-I and sector Delta-1 in Greater Noida are planned for future expansion.

"Since the stretch between Noida to Greater Noida is long, this route has been planned differently," said Mangu Singh. "We plan to have fast trains along this corridor, which may not stop at all stations," he said.