A 17-km stretch of the RRTS corridor is likely to be launched next year, with the entire project being operationalised by 2025.
Frequent traffic congestion between Delhi and Meerut could soon be history, thanks to the upcoming Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut regional rapid transit system (RRTS). Work on the 17-km priority section (Sahibabad to Duhai) of the 82-km-long high-speed, high-capacity corridor is in full swing, with commissioning expected in 2023, while the entire corridor is expected to be operationalised by March, 2025.
The Delhi-Meerut RRTS, being developed at a cost of Rs 30,274 crore by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), would pass through one of the most densely populated sections of the National Capital Region (NCR), which includes urban centres and townships like Ghaziabad, Modinagar and Meerut, cutting down travel time between Delhi and Meerut from the present three hours to only 55 minutes.
Vinay Kumar Singh, managing director of NCRTC, says the launch of the corridor is expected to shift the modal share in favour of public transport from 37% to 63%, helping curb congestion as well as pollution. “Increased share of public transport will reduce dependence on private vehicles and, as per estimates, take more than 100,000 private vehicles off roads.” Of the total length of the corridor, 14 km would fall in Delhi and 68 km in Uttar Pradesh. “Almost 70 km of the corridor would be elevated while 12 km would be underground. Of its 25 stations, four would be underground, while the rest would be elevated,” says Puneet Vats, chief public relations officer, NCRTC.
Work on the corridor began in March, 2019. Almost 60% of the project cost is being funded by multilateral agencies while 40% is being borne by the Centre and the state governments of Delhi and UP. “Among the funding agencies, $1 billion has come from the Asian Development Bank, while $500 million each has been provided by the New Development Bank and Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. Of the remaining 40%, the Centre’s contribution is 20% and the Delhi government’s, 3.22%. The UP government is bearing 16.78% of the costs,” he says.
Daily ridership on the corridor is pegged at 8 lakh passengers. The train sets are being manufactured by Alstom (formerly Bombardier) under the government’s Make in India policy at its Savli plant in Gujarat, with the first rake expected to be handed over in about a month’s time. Commuters’ convenience was a priority while the RRTS’ layout was being designed. “To ensure multi-modal connectivity, the RRTS stations would be linked to other transport modes like air, railway, bus, Metro and expressways, wherever possible. Seamless integration of different modes of transport will encourage people to use public transport on the stretch,” the NCRTC MD says, highlighting that “while RRTS will serve as the backbone for regional transportation, Delhi Metro’s lines will complement it by providing feeder and dispersal services”.
Vats says that “the RRTS service, which would be three times faster than Metro services, is aimed at passengers looking to travel a relatively longer distance with fewer stops,” adding that by connecting a number of townships and centres of economic activity along the corridor’s length, the project would also boost the overall development of the region.
https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/delhi-meerut-rrts-project-work-on-priority-section-in-full-swing/2481549/
