Regional rapid rail transport (RRTS) train on Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut track (Image Credit: NCRTC)
The Uttar Pradesh government has allocated Rs 1,306 crore for India’s first regional rapid transit system (RRTS) coming up between Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut in its state budget for FY2023-24 presented on February 22. The central government allocated Rs 3,596 crore for the RRTS project in the Union Budget 2023-24, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.
The 82 km-long Delhi-Meerut RRTS is a semi-high-speed rail-based transit network which will pass through one of the most densely populated sections of the national capital region, connecting Delhi to Uttar Pradesh.
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Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Project status, important dates
The 17 km-long priority section between Sahibabad-Duhai of Delhi-Meerut RRTS will be operationalised this year, while the entire corridor will likely open by 2025. RRTS is being implemented by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) under the control of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
”The target for commissioning the priority section is June 2023, but we are trying to prepone it and open it for commuters by March itself. The testing of trains is currently underway and the regulatory safety approval is being awaited” an NCRTC official told Moneycontrol.
Currently, the testing of RRTS trains is being carried out in the priority section for checking the components. The 17 km-long priority section of the corridor has five stations including Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, and Duhai Depot. The construction of these stations is in the advanced stages and will be ready for operations soon, according to NCRTC.
The Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor will cover the distance between the two major cities in under 55 minutes and will have a total of 25 stations. The RRTS network would be spatially oriented to ensure multimodal integration with other modes of public transit – which includes Indian Railways, Inter State Bus Terminals (ISBTs), Airports and the Delhi Metro.
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RRTS Project: Top features
RRTS trains will have a design speed of 180 kmph and an operational speed of 160 kmph, once ready for operations. The semi-high-speed rail network will connect Delhi to far-flung areas such as Meerut, Gurugram, Alwar, and Panipat. These areas are not yet connected via metro routes, but witness a huge influx of commuters from the national capital due to the local factories and industrial centres. These regions altogether connected with Delhi act as centres of economic growth for NCR.
RRTS is different from the metro as it caters to passengers looking to travel relatively long distances with fewer stops and at a higher speed. Apart from Delhi-Ghazaiabd-Meerut, the other two corridors being developed under RRTS phase-1 are Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat.
Also Read: UP govt presents Rs 6.90-lakh crore budget for 2023-24; Rs 85 crore set aside for data centres
Budget allocations
While presenting the UP budget for FY23-24, state finance minister Suresh Khanna pegged the total Budget size at Rs 6.90 lakh crore. In 2022-23, the state’s Budget estimate was at Rs 6.15 lakh crore. UP budget also proposed an allocation of Rs 585 crore for the Kanpur Metro, Rs 465 crore for the Agra Metro and Rs 100 crore for the implementation of metro rail projects in Varanasi, Gorakhpur.
”The state’s contribution to the country’s GDP is more than eight percent. In the year 2021 2022, a growth of 16.8 percent has been registered in the gross state domestic product, which was higher than the country’s growth rate,” said UP FM Suresh Kumar Khanna.
