Nisha Wadhawan, an NMRC spokesperson, confirmed that a tender has got issued. “Presently, the mock metro coach is available in the depot station in Greater Noida. The successful licensee will relocate it at a designated place in the Noida Sector 137 metro station,” she said.
“The licensee will ensure that no damage should occur to the coach. After allotment, the licensee may modify the setting inside the coach after approval from NMRC. The NMRC prefers to lease out this space for operating eateries/food courts/innovative library/sound and laser show, etc.,” the tender document states.
The coach will stand on a designated 300-sqm area on the station’s ground floor. The licensee’s responsibility will be to develop the coach as per its business concept and ensure no drilling/cutting takes place inside/outside the coach. However, the licensee would be allowed to develop a circulating area around the coach as a landscape/green area with sitting arrangements or any other innovative way.
Commercial activity involving prohibited items would not be allowed in the coach under any Act or legislation. The sale of any product which may lead to or be considered a fire hazard, including firecrackers, industrial explosives, chemicals, tobacco products, coal-based cooking, etc., is prohibited on the coach. However, serving of liquor in a resto-bar set-up can be permitted subject to the fulfilment of all statutory/legal/local permissions. The licence period will be for nine years and can get extended for a suitable period after mutual consent of the parties. The average daily ridership of Aqua Line, which connects Noida Sector 51 to Depot Station in Greater Noida, is 40,000.