Delhi section of RRTS likely to be ready by mid-2025: NCRTC

The Delhi section is about 14 km, which consists of about 9 km of elevated section and 5 km of underground section. The four stations in Delhi are Jangpura, Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar and Anand Vihar.

The construction of the station buildings and tracks for the Delhi section of Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) is expected to be completed by the end of this month, officials from the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) have said.

The under construction Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Station at Sarai Kale Khan in New Delhi on Thursday. (Sanjeev Verma/ HT Photo)

The Delhi section of RRTS is expected to be ready for operation by mid-2025, connecting Delhi to Meerut via Ghaziabad. The entire corridor from Delhi to Meerut will be built at a cost of ₹30,274 crore.

“Construction of the RRTS viaduct in the Delhi section is nearing completion, with work at all RRTS stations finishing swiftly. Less than 500 metres of the viaduct in the Delhi section is now left for construction, which is scheduled for completion by the month-end. Construction of more than 8 km of viaduct has already been completed in addition to an entire underground section of about 5 km. The three mainline RRTS stations of Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar and Anand Vihar (underground) stations have already taken shape where finishing work is currently in progress,” said Puneet Vats, NCRTC spokesperson.

The Delhi section is about 14 km, which consists of about 9 km of elevated section and 5 km of underground section. The four stations in Delhi are Jangpura, Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar and Anand Vihar.

Officials added that tracks laying activities, along with electric traction and signalling works, are currently underway in the New Ashok Nagar to Sahibabad section. The Delhi section is expected to be completed by the end of this year, after which trial runs will begin from Delhi to Sahibabad after the completion of the viaduct and system works in the Delhi section, they added.

NCRTC officials also explained that there were several technical challenges in construction of the viaduct in the Delhi section.

“These challenges include executing construction activities in highly congested areas of Delhi. Complex engineering works have been executed like crossing the Barapullah flyover using long special spans, constructing the Yamuna river bridge, and implementing six steel special spans at Kondli Chowk to cross the Ghazipur drain,” said another senior NCRTC official.

Officials said that maximum physical construction has been done at the Sarai Kale Khan station, which is one of the largest stations along the entire corridor. NCRTC is also developing Multimodal Integration (MMI) nodes at its station to connect Veer Haqiqat Rai ISBT, Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and Delhi Metro Pink Line.

“The special features include four tracks and six platforms at the same level as the station. A 280-meter foot overbridge (FOB) with six travelators is being constructed to connect the RRTS station to Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station,” said the official.

This station is also significant as all three priority RRTS corridors (Delhi-Panipat and Delhi-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut) of the first phase will converge here. Officials said that the Sarai Kale Khan RRTS station is at an advanced stage of construction with the concourse and platform levels, and slab laying for tracks already finished.

“Currently, roof construction is underway, with the pre-engineered building (PEB) erection being done. Spanning 215 metres in length, 50 metres in width, and 15 metres in height, the station is equipped with 14 lifts and 18 escalators for the passengers expected at this huge station,” said the official.

At the New Ashok Nagar station, construction of the civil structure of concourse and platform levels is complete with finishing work in progress, officials said. Roof construction has commenced, and tracks laying is in progress. The station, spanning 215 metres in length and 30 metres in width, has four escalators, officials added.

At Anand Vihar, the underground station spanning 297 metres in length and 35 metres in width, concourse and platform levels are complete. Officials said that three bridges over the Ghazipur drain will connect the station to the main road. Two of these will facilitate entry and exit of vehicles to the main road and the third would be for pedestrian access only. The structure work for two of these bridges has been completed while the third is in progress.

MMI nodes are also being developed at the Anand Vihar RRTS station, integrating it with six modes of public transport. These include the Swami Vivekananda (Anand Vihar) ISBT, city bus stand, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) bus stand in Kaushambi, as well as the Pink and Blue line Metro corridors and Anand Vihar railway station. An FOB connecting the Metro station to the first floor of the RRTS station is also being constructed.

The New Ashok Nagar RRTS station is connected with Ashok Nagar Metro station with a 90-metre FOB for interchange between the two modes of transport. Additionally, two more FOBs are under construction to improve accessibility, one connecting Chilla village and nearby areas of Mayur Vihar Extension, and another near the ancient Shiva temple in New Ashok Nagar.

Out of eight identified corridors of RRTS, three are prioritised in phase-I. These are Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar corridor and Delhi-Panipat corridor.