RRTS project: Trial runs for trains to go on for four months in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad: The trial runs for rapid trains as part of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project are likely to start this month, sources in the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) said on Monday

Ghaziabad: The trial runs for rapid trains as part of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project are likely to start this month, sources in the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) said on Monday.

Ghaziabad, India – October 21, 2022: A view of the ongoing construction of the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS). The construction work between Vasundhra to Sawan is on the verge of completion, in Ghaziabad, India, on October 21, 2022. (Photo by Sakib Ali/ Hindustan Times)

The trial runs are likely to go on for a period of four months till the 17-kilometre ‘priority’ section gets fully operational for passenger operations in March 2023, sources added.

NCRTC officials said that all the train-sets for the RRTS project will be subjected to comprehensive trials before they are introduced for passenger operations.

The 82-km RRTS project will link the three cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut and is scheduled to get fully commissioned in March 2025. The project will cater to about 800,000 passengers on a daily basis. A 17-km section of the project, termed as the ‘priority’ section, will be the first RRTS stretch in the country to commence passenger operation in March 2023.

“The trial runs are likely to start in November. During this period, the trains and number of related activities such as signalling, tracks, braking, communications, station operations, etc. will be tested comprehensively in order to achieve the level of actual passenger operations. During the four-month period before the priority section gets operational, a number of tests will be performed to achieve full synchronisation,” said Puneet Vats, NCRTC chief public relations officer.

The NCRTC has proposed 30 trains of six coaches each for the RRTS project, besides 10 trains with three coaches each that will serve as a local transit module in Meerut city. Two train-sets have already arrived at the Duhai depot in Ghaziabad, while one more is likely to arrive soon.

The RRTS trains have a design speed of 180 kilometres per hour (kmph) with a running speed of 160kmph and an average speed of 100kmph.

“During the trials, we will test the trains at a speed of 160kmph and they will run at the operational speed and passenger load. It will be achieved by using sandbags that will be placed inside the trains. The first two trains are fully assembled and undergoing trials at the Duhai depot. As more trains arrive, they will undergo comprehensive testing before getting deployed,” Vats added.

Once the four-month trial culminating in the operation of the 17-km ‘priority’ section in Ghaziabad is over, the NCRTC has plans to open a second section which is about 33-km-long from Duhai to Meerut (South). Sources in the NCRTC said that the second section is likely to commence by the end of 2023 or in the first quarter of 2024.

The 82-km RRTS stretch has 25 stations, including three depots at Duhai in Ghaziabad, Jangpura in Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut. Officials said that two other depots in Delhi and Meerut will come up before the commissioning of the 82-km section.