RRTS: Safety nod for RapidX services on 17km priority section in Ghaziabad
All that remains for passenger operations to start on the corridor is the setting of a date for its inauguration, said officials
The Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) has approved the operation of RapidX services on the 17km priority section of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project in Ghaziabad and now all that remains for passenger operations to start on the corridor is the setting of a date for its inauguration, said National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
The 82km long RRTS project is proposed to connect three cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. A priority section in Ghaziabad, from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot, has been developed in the first phase and it has become the first RRTS corridor to receive CMRS clearance.
“Over the course of the past one year, more than one independent safety assessors have rigorously examined the processes deployed by NCRTC for implementing this state-of-the-art, world-class, new-age transit infrastructure project. Thus, the system has been thoroughly scrutinised and only after the clearances it has received approvals from the Ministry of Railways and CMRS,” the NCRTC said in a press statement on Tuesday.
The priority section in Ghaziabad has five stations -- Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot -- besides three other stations in Muradnagar, Modinagar (North) and Modinagar (South).
With the CMRS approval, the priority section now awaits inauguration, which according to sources is likely to be done by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. The PM had laid the foundation stone for the project on March 8, 2019, during a public event in Ghaziabad.
“All systems, sub-systems, viaduct, physical structures and amenities etc, have been tested. The CMRS mainly inspects two points – the rolling stock and the section. It is after proper assessment that approvals are granted. The system is functional and trains are now being run like on a functional line but minus passengers. The passenger operations are likely to start soon,” said a spokesperson of NCRTC.
The spokesperson said once passenger operation starts, the train will be run at a frequency of 15 minutes and the frequency can be increased as per requirement to about three minutes.
The NCRTC initiated the first test run on the priority section in January and these were later integrated with trial runs and later the fully integrated trial runs with the help of the European train control system (ETCS) level 2 signalling, officials said.
The RapidX trains have a design speed of 180kmph and the speed will be about 100kmph during actual passenger operations, said NCRTC.
After the 17km priority section opens in Ghaziabad, the agency has plans to open the other stretches towards Meerut and Delhi. The entire 82km RRTS project is expected to commence operations by June 2025.
