RRTS project: Laying of tracks for 17km priority section begins in Ghaziabad

The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has started laying tracks on the Sahibabad-Duhai stretch -- the 17km priority section -- for the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), officials said on Tuesday

The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has started laying tracks on the Sahibabad-Duhai stretch -- the 17km priority section -- for the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), officials said on Tuesday. The officials also said that the production of train coaches for the project has started at a plant in Savli, Gujarat.

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The RRTS project is an 82km high-speed rail corridor connecting Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. The ₹30,274 crore project is aimed at reducing the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to 55-60 minutes. The Sahibabad-Duhai stretch has a deadline of March 2023.

“We have started laying tracks at the priority section, and a number of parallel activities, including the production of coaches in Gujarat, have also started. All these activities are getting coordinated to meet the deadline of March 2023. About 60% of the civil construction work of the priority section is complete,” said Puneet Vats, chief public relations officer (CPRO) of NCRTC.

The 82km corridor is scheduled to open for passenger operations in 2025.

“For laying of tracks, we have come up with a precast track slab technology which is being used for the first time in India for a speed of 180km per hour. The actual maximum speed of trains will be 160kmph while the average speed will be close to 100kmph. Each precast slab will be numbered and designed as per its location. So, every slab will synchronise with the RRTS alignment,” Vats said.

The officials are hopeful that they will be able to make up for the time loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the entire viaduct of the 17km priority section will be completed in the next eight months.

“To speed up the civil construction and viaduct, we have placed 16 gantries over the entire 82km section and four more will be introduced soon. We have also deployed about 1,100 engineers and 10,000 labourers for the project,” the CPRO said.

According to the officials, the delivery of the first set of coaches is likely by June 2022. The NCRTC has proposed 30 trains of six coaches each for the entire project. They have also proposed 10 trains with three coaches each which will serve as a local transit module in Meerut. The NCRTC is also developing a major depot at Duhai in Ghaziabad where maintenance activities for trains will take place.

About 70km section of the 82km corridor is elevated while the rest -- from Anand Vihar to Sahibabad -- is underground.