Not just a mode of transport but a strategic investment to decongest Delhi in future: NCRTC MD
Not just a mode of transport but a strategic investment to decongest Delhi in future: NCRTC MD
Operations on the priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor are expected to start from March next year, Vinay Kumar Singh, Managing Director, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) said on Friday. The 17-kilometre-long priority section will connect Duhai to Sahibabad.
Currently, trial runs are being conducted with two trains at the RRTS depot at Duhai in Ghaziabad district, Mr. Singh said and added that trials on the main line will commence from the first week of December.
Speaking to reporters during a site visit at the under-construction RRTS station at Delhi’s Anand Vihar, the NCRTC MD said that the entire 82-KM-long corridor between Sarai Kale Khan and Meerut’s Modipuram is expected to be completed by 2025. It will have 24 stations in total, while the priority section will have four stations – Duhai, Guldhar, Ghaziabad, and Sahibabad. He said that the RRTS was not just a mode of transport but a “strategic investment to decongest Delhi” as people from nearby cities will not have to move to Delhi for work and other purposes.
Mr. Singh said many factors such as signalling, brakes and flow of electricity are being tested to check the “behaviour” of a train. He added that high-speed trials will also be conducted and that the NCRTC has sought dates from different agencies that are involved in the project. “We also have the automatic train protection (ATP) system in our trains which stops the train at a signal even if the driver forgets to hit the brakes. We’ve tested the ATP and the trains are behaving perfectly,” he said.
In reply to a question, Mr. Singh told reporters that the NCRTC was planning to begin operations on the next section from Duhai to Meerut South by December 2024. “It will be a very long section and with Meerut South station, the train will reach the outer area of the city.”
The project is expected to bring down the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to 55-60 minutes. The operational speed of the trains will be 160 kmph, one NCRTC official said. The official added that six-coach trains will be run on the corridor with one reserved for women and one premium class coach.
Mr. Singh said the fare of the premium coach will be “substantially higher” than the normal fare, while adding that no decision on fare structure was taken yet.
On the frequency of trains, Mr. Singh said, ”Initially, we are planning to run a train every 15 minutes in the priority section but we have the capacity of bringing down the frequency to three minutes. We can modify it depending on ridership.”
When asked about the status of funding from the Delhi government, The NCRTC MD said the company had received ₹265 crore so far out of its share of about ₹1,180 crore. “we are in talks with them for the rest of the funds,” he added.
