In a bid to boost urban infrastructure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an allocation of more than Rs 2,900 crore in the Union Budget 2025-26 for the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), India's first regional rapid rail project. The union budget for 2025-26 was presented by Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha on Saturday.
The NCRTC received a total outlay of 2,918 crore in the current budget, while it was Rs 3,855 crore in last budget's revised estimates.
The NCRTC has started its operation in Delhi from January 5 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a 13-km section of the corridor from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad to New Ashok Nagar in the national capital.
After the inauguration of the NCRTC's Delhi section, commuters from the national capital can reach Meerut South in just 40 minutes.
Currently, two stations -- Anand Vihar and New Ashok Nagar -- are operational in Delhi, while a third one is under construction at Sarai Kale Khan.
The 82-km Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor originates at Sarai Kale Khan in New Delhi and terminates at Modipuram in Meerut.
It has 16 stations along with nine additional stations for the Meerut metro, making it a comprehensive and transformative regional transit solution.
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