RRTS: Paid parking made available at five stations on priority section

Officials said the charges will be ₹100 if a vehicle is parked beyond 12 hours and up to RRTS train operational timings up to 11pm

Ahead of the inauguration of the country’s first section of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in Ghaziabad, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the agency executing the RRTS project, said it has provided parking for vehicles at all five stations on the stretch and the first 10 minutes --for picking or dropping passengers -- at these stations will be free of charge.

The 17km priority section in Ghaziabad has five stations at Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot. It is expected that the stretch will be inaugurated during the festival of Navratri later this month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI)

The 17km priority section in Ghaziabad has five stations at Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot. It is expected that the stretch will be inaugurated during the festival of Navratri later this month by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The rates for parking at the five stations have been kept on par with parking charges at any other urban mass transit system. However, it is probably for the first time that the first 10 minutes, for vehicles to drop or pick passengers, is being offered for free,” said a spokesperson from NCRTC.

NCRTC officials said parking lots have been built near the entry/exit gates of stations, so that passengers do not have to go far to park vehicles.

According to the rates announced by the NCRTC, cars/SUVs will be charged ₹25 for the first six hours while the charges will be ₹50 beyond six hours and up to 12 hours.

Officials said the charges will be ₹100 if a vehicle is parked beyond 12 hours and up to RRTS train operational timings up to 11pm.

The car owners can also avail of parking beyond the operational hours, up to 6am the next day, at a charge of ₹200 per night.

Likewise, the rates for parking of two-wheelers range from ₹10 to ₹30 based on the parking hours. The night parking charges for two-wheelers have been fixed at ₹60.

The rates for parking bicycles range from ₹5 to ₹10, depending on the number of hours it is left parked, while the night parking charge for bicycles is fixed at ₹20.

The officials said three entry/exit gates have been made at the Sahibabad station, of which one entry gate is connected to Sahibabad bus stand, the second gate is built on the other side of the road. Parking arrangements have been made at all three entry/exit points, officials added.

At Ghaziabad station, a parking has been developed in front of the station. At Duhai station, four entry/exit gates have been constructed and parking space has been provided accordingly, officials said.

The NCRTC is yet to announce the parking capacity at each of the five RRTS stations, said officials, adding that provisions for feeder buses are yet to be made from the RRTS stations in Ghaziabad.

In June, the regional transport authority (RTA) proposed 17 routes with nine originating from the Sahibabad RRTS station while four each were proposed from Ghaziabad and Guldhar stations.

“So far, no operator has come forward for the permits to run feeder buses. We are hopeful of a response once the RRTS priority section is inaugurated. However, there are other options available for passengers such as autos, e-rickshaws etc for the time being,” said PK Singh, regional transport officer.

The NCRTC spokesperson said the issue of feeder buses will be looked into.

The 17km priority section in Ghaziabad is part of the 82km RRTS network to link cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. The project cost is estimated at ₹30,274 crore and is likely to get fully operational by March 2025.

The project will operate RapidX trains which have design speed of 180kmph.