The first phase of India’s first-ever regional rapid transit system (RRTS) connecting an 82-km stretch between Delhi and Meerut will be operational by March next year. This phase is a 17-km stretch connecting Sahibabad to Duhai in Uttar Pradesh.
“We have already started the test run with one train. We were given the target of operationalizing the first phase by June 2023, but we are preponing it to March next year. The entire 82-km corridor will be operational by 2025,” said Vinay Kumar Singh, MD, NCRTC.
Singh said including the Meerut metro project, it would require around Rs 30,000 crore investment for the entire corridor, and funds have been tied up. Around Rs, 10,000 crores have already gone into the project as work is going on across the entire stretch. While Asian Development Bank is providing a $one billion loan; Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank have provided $500 million each loan facility for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor.
An agreement has also been signed with Alstom India for the supply of 30 trains for the RRTS corridor and 10 trains for the Meerut metro project. Alstom India will also do the maintenance job of the rolling stocks for 15 years.NCRTC has also recently signed a pact with DB India for the operation and maintenance of the RRTS corridor for a period of 12 years.
“Once operational, RRTS will act as the backbone of urban and regional transportation in NCR, ushering in a new era of the fastest, most comfortable and safest mode of commuter transport in NCR. Nearly 60 million people living in the region will benefit,” Singh said.
