Country’s first RRTS train getting ready for trial run at Ghaziabad’s Duhai depot

The country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train set is getting ready at the stabling yard in Duhai and the trial of the train is expected to commence in the last quarter of the year when the remaining infrastructure gets ready for the 17-kilometre-long priority section

The country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train set is getting ready at the stabling yard in Duhai and the trial of the train is expected to commence in the last quarter of the year when the remaining infrastructure gets ready for the 17-kilometre-long priority section.

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The six coaches arrived from a manufacturing plant at Savli in Gujarat on June 12 and technicians are now putting the coaches together. Officials familiar with the development said that the test run at a speed of 180kmph will be the most crucial phase.

The RRTS trains will cater to a design speed of 180kmph. These trains will have premium coaches with 60 seats while the standard coaches will have 70 seats. In all, the six-coach RRTS train will be able to ferry 1,750 passengers, which also includes the standing capacity.

“At present, we have partially readied the first train and two coaches have been fitted with passenger seats while four coaches are empty. The empty coaches will be filled up with sandbags and limited tests are being conducted at the stabling line of the Duhai depot in Ghaziabad. A running track measuring one kilometre is getting readied for the test run,” said an officer from National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).

“The speed test will take place at the priority section and sandbags will be used during the trial. It is expected that the civil construction work for the entire priority section (Sahibabad to Duhai) is likely to be ready within two months,” the officer added.

The 17-km priority section in Ghaziabad will be the country’s first RRTS stretch that will become operational in March 2023. The entire 82-km route linking Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut is scheduled for commissioning by March 2025.

“The six coaches are getting ready and about 95% work for the priority section is complete. The rest of the work is likely to be completed within the next couple of months. The speed test and other trials will take place at the main line of the priority section. We are hopeful that the trials will start in the last quarter of the year. Different departments will conduct their tests during the trial. Thereafter, an integrated test of all the systems will take place,” said Puneet Vats, chief public relations officer (PRO), NCRTC.

The fully retrofitted coaches will be commissioned once the train is ready for commercial operations, officials said.

The actual operation speed of the RRTS trains will be 160kmph while their average running speed will be close to 100kmph, sources said.

The 82-km stretch of the RRTS project between Delhi and Meerut is pegged at ₹30,274 crore and around 70-km is elevated and based on pillars.

The entire rolling stock for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is being manufactured at the Savli plant in Gujarat under ‘Make in India’ initiative.

The NCRTC has proposed 30 trains of six coaches each besides 10 trains with three coaches, which will serve as a local transit module in Meerut.