E-Paper
Tender floated for RRTS’s first underground section
The NCR Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is developing the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project connecting Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut, has floated tenders
The NCR Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is developing the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project connecting Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut, has floated tenders for the first underground section proposed between New Ashok Nagar in East Delhi and Sahibabad in Ghaziabad.
The entire RRTS project is pegged at a cost of ₹30,274 crore and is aimed at providing high-speed connectivity between Delhi and the satellite cities of Ghaziabad and Meerut.
The NCRTC officials said while the 82km RRTS corridor will be mostly elevated, 11.53km will be underground. Of this, the first section of 5.8km — between New Ashok Nagar (elevated) in East Delhi and Bharat Electronic Limited in Sahibabad area of Ghaziabad— will be taken up first.
Of the 5.8km section, only the RRTS station at Anand Vihar will be underground. The station will be constructed near the existing Metro station (elevated) and the ISBT Anand Vihar and will have an interchange facility for commuters to switch between different transport systems.
“The tender has been floated for the 5.8km underground section and it is on a design-and-build basis. This means that the broad parameters are given by NCRTC while the structural, foundation design, etc., will be done by the selected contractor. The tunnelling for the underground section will be about 6.5 metres in diameter — slightly more that the normal Metro train tunnel diameter, which is of about 5.8 metres,” Sudhir Kumar Sharma, chief PRO, NCRTC, said.
The officials said the underground sections have been proposed keeping in mind the profile of an area, density of population, availability of right of way and presence of buildings.
“In the underground section (5.8km), there will be two tunnels for dual movement of trains. The midsection between the two tunnels will have a passage, in case of a breakdown or the need for rescue operations. The diameter of the RRTS tunnels will be more as these trains are of high speeds. We would require bigger cutters than the normal ones used by tunnel boring machines,” an NCRTC officer said.
The 17km long priority section (elevated) from Sahibabad to Duhai in Ghaziabad is already under construction and will be completed by March 2023. Once the priority stretch is ready, the NCRTC has plans to open the stretch for operations.
The NCRTC has also started the work for engaging a detailed design consultant (DDC) for Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar stations, a multimodal integration scheme and a stabling yard in Jungpura.
The NCRTC officials said the second underground stretch, of 5.73km, has been proposed in Meerut. This section will start after Bhrampuri Metro station and trains will cross three underground stations of Meerut Central, Bhaisali and Begumpul to come up on to the elevated section at MES Colony.
The entire 82km corridor is slotted to be ready by March 2025. In all, the corridor will have 24 stations, including two depot stations in Duhai and Modipuram (Meerut).
