Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS project is a 82-km semi high-speed rapid rail project.
Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor is the next big thing by Centre's road infrastructure project connecting the two states. According to Swarajya, the project work is in full swing and it is very likely that it will meet its target of completing the priority section.
Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS project is going to be 82-km semi high-speed rapid rail project while the priority section which will be commissioned first, lies between Sahibabad and Duhai. The deadline for this section to be completed is 2023 and for the entire project is 2025.
Earlier in September, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement with the Indian government to extend a $500 million loan for building the 82-km, high-speed Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor.
The loan agreement was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Fund Bank and ADB, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission.
"The project will provide better connectivity to allow other towns in the NCR to develop as urban economic centres surrounded by residential areas while easing the concentration pressure on Delhi," said Khare.
"Development of this corridor will have a huge demonstration effect and pave the way for a paradigm shift in mobility and the pattern of urban development within the region," he added.
Delhi-Meerut RRTS project | Key takeaways
- With a design speed of 180 km per hour and high-frequency operations of every 5-10 minutes, the 82-km corridor connecting Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Modipuram in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh is expected to reduce the journey time to about 1 hour from the present 3-4 hours.
- The RRTS will have multimodal hubs to ensure smooth interchange with other transport modes.
- The first tranche financing will be used for constructing electrified tracks, signalling systems, multimodal hubs and stations with design features that are friendly to elderly, women, children and the disabled.
- It will also support the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) in drafting action plans on TOD, VCF instruments and public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives, setting up a smart-technology based platform, and formulating a gender-friendly workplace policy.
- A $3 million grant from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction will support various activities, including provision of visual, hearing and mobility aids, such as wheelchairs for differently abled persons.
- Training for women and differently abled on safe mobility and employment opportunities and behavioral change for public transport providers will also be given.
- The ADB-administered multi-donor Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund will provide $2.89 million to support innovations in building information modeling, universal access design features, TOD and VCF.
