NCRTC applies for final safety inspection for Sahibabad-New Ashok Nagar RRTS corridor

The 82km RRTS corridor is proposed to connect the three cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. Currently, a 42km section with nine stations in Uttar Pradesh is operational

The opening of the 12km section of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad to Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar is likely to happen soon as the project executing agency, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), has applied to the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety for the final safety inspection.

The NCRTC said the daily ridership on the 42km section is about 25,000 and it will further increase once the network is extended to Delhi. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The 82km RRTS corridor is proposed to connect the three cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. Currently, a 42km section with nine stations in Uttar Pradesh, from Meerut (south) to Sahibabad, is operational.

The officials of the NCRTC said the daily ridership on the 42km section is about 25,000 and it will further increase once the network is extended to Delhi.

“The agency has applied to the CMRS for conduct of final safety inspections. Already, random inspections by different teams are underway. However, the final safety approval will come only after CMRS inspection. Once this inspection is over and the approval comes, the stage will be set for commencement of passenger operations,” said an official from NCRTC, asking not to be named.

The section from Sahibabad towards Delhi has two RRTS stations -- at Anand Vihar and New Ashok Nagar.

“We are working towards operationalising this section soon. The work on the section is in the advanced stages of completion. And people of Ghaziabad and Meerut, besides those in Delhi, will benefit once the RRTS trains enter Delhi,” said Puneet Vats, chief public relations officer, NCRTC.

The trial runs on the 12km section commenced in first week of October.

Currently, the entire 42km operational section of RRTS in Uttar Pradesh is elevated. After Sahibabad, the corridor will go underground towards Anand Vihar, which is an underground station. In Delhi, the RRTS network from Anand Vihar to Sarai Kale Khan covers 5.5km and is fully underground. The other 6.5km underground section is in Meerut, said officials.

Overall, 70km of RRTS will be elevated while 12km will be underground.

The RRTS trains, called Namo Bharat trains, have a design speed of 180km/hour and an operational speed of 160km/hour. These trains take about 60 minutes to travel a distance of 100km.

Officials said the 5km RRTS section from New Ashok Nagar to Sarai Kale Khan may witness commencement of trial runs by March 2025. Officials expect that trial runs on the remaining sections in Meerut may also begin by March 2025.

The entire project has three stations in Delhi, eight in Ghaziabad and 13 in Meerut. Of the 13 stations in Meerut, four are dedicated for RRTS trains while the remaining stations are part of a local metro module and will have three-coach trains operating on the same infrastructure.

The project completion date for the entire 82km project is June 2025.