The Uttar Pradesh government has approved the Detailed Project Report for a proposed Regional Rapid Transit System corridor aimed at improving high-speed rail connectivity to the Noida International Airport at Jewar.
The proposal has now been sent to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for further consideration, marking a key step in the plan to connect Delhi and the Noida airport through rapid rail infrastructure.
Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta reportedly said the proposed high-speed connectivity plan could reduce travel time between Delhi and Noida International Airport to around 21 minutes in the future.
The matter was discussed during a review meeting of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority at PICUP Bhawan in Lucknow last week.
The meeting focused on infrastructure, planned development and connectivity projects in the Yamuna Expressway region.
According to details shared after the meeting, the DPR also includes provisions to integrate the proposed RRTS corridor with the proposed Delhi-Varanasi bullet train corridor with the airport terminal through a dedicated station.
This integration is expected to enable faster Delhi-airport connectivity once the wider rail network is developed.
The project is part of a broader push to strengthen transport links around Noida International Airport, which is expected to become a major aviation, cargo and industrial growth centre for western Uttar Pradesh and the wider National Capital Region.
The proposed rapid rail plan is significant because Jewar airport is being developed as the second major international airport serving Delhi-NCR, after Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Faster public transport connectivity is expected to be crucial for passenger movement, cargo operations and industrial activity in the Yamuna Expressway belt.
At present, the Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor is the only operational RRTS corridor in the country.
The corridor runs from Delhi to Meerut and uses trains designed for high-speed regional movement, with a top design speed of 180 kmph and a maximum operational speed of 160 kmph.
The proposed Noida airport connectivity plan is expected to link with wider regional transport networks, including rapid rail, metro and high-speed rail systems.
Officials have also highlighted the importance of connecting the Yamuna Expressway region with major expressways such as the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and Ganga Expressway.
Gupta said the Yamuna Expressway region is set to emerge as a major cargo hub after the opening of Jewar airport.
He also directed officials to improve road maintenance along the expressway, speed up online payment of land acquisition compensation to farmers and simplify no-objection certificate procedures for maps and plots.
Officials were also asked to make plot-related information available online and provide artificial intelligence training to authority personnel to meet future administrative requirements.
