Two stations at the core of the interstate, high-speed Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) rail project in the Capital — Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan — are nearing completion, say officials.
The RRTS is an 82-km-long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor, of which 70 km is elevated and 12 km is underground, aimed to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to 40-55 minutes. It is expected to be fully commissioned by 2025.
The project is being executed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is a joint venture of the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Sharing details about the progress of the work at Anand Vihar station, a senior NCRTC official said work on its concourse has been completed and the construction of the platform level is nearing completion. The official added that the track-laying work will begin at this station over the coming days, with work at the concourse-level having been completed.
The official added that work on 38 of the 39 piers of Sarai Kale Khan station, which will form the backbone of the corridor in the National Capital Region (NCR), has been completed. The NCRTC official also said that, the construction of platforms — of which it has six with four tracks — is going to commence.
The elevated Sarai Kale Khan RRTS station will provide connectivity to the Delhi-Panipat and Delhi-Alwar corridors under phase I, allowing passengers to travel between stations in different corridors.
Measuring 215 metres long, 50 metres wide and 15 metres high, the station will have 14 lifts, 18 escalators, and six entry and exit gates. One entrance each will be built near the ISBT, the Hazrat Nizamuddin metro station and the Ring Road.
Fourteen km of the corridor is in Delhi of which 9.22 km is elevated and 4.28 km is underground. The Sarai Kale Khan and the New Ashok Nagar stations are elevated, while Anand Vihar is the only underground station.
