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Union Budget: NCRTC gets ₹2,487 crore for rapid rail project
In a major boost to regional connectivity in the National Capital Region (NCR), the government has allocated ₹2,487 crore to the National Capital Region Transport
In a major boost to regional connectivity in the National Capital Region (NCR), the government has allocated ₹2,487 crore to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is developing the country’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project. The money has been allocated under the Union Budget presented in the Parliament on Saturday
In 2018-19, the NCRTC received an initial budget of ₹100 crore, while the Budget for 2019-20 provided ₹974 crore and the revised Budget provided ₹824 crore to the NCRTC. However, the 2020-21 Budget has provided ₹2,487 crore for the project—the highest in three years. The officials said that the allocation has increased as the different RRTS works are now getting expedited.
“The budget allocation will boost the RRTS project and will help rapid rail connectivity gain momentum. Different works for the project are being taken up and more tenders will soon be finalised,” Sudhir Sharma, chief PRO of NCRTC, said.
With an operational speed of 160kmph, high-speed RRTS trains will run on elevated and underground corridors and aim to cover the distance between Delhi and Meerut within 60 minutes.
The first 82km stretch between Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut is under construction. A 17km section (Sahibabad to Duhai) in Ghaziabad has been identified as a priority stretch and is scheduled to get completed by March 2023. The entire Delhi to Meerut route is scheduled to open in March 2025.
“The works are in full swing in the 17km corridor in Ghaziabad. The tender for Duhai to Shatabdipuram (Meerut) has been floated and will also be finalised soon. Tenders for rolling stock, rail supply and the RRTS’s first underground section between New Ashok Nagar in East Delhi and Sahibabad in Ghaziabad have also been floated,” an official source said.
The entire project is pegged at ₹30,274 crore, and sources said that an agreement for a loan of about ₹15,000 crore for the project is likely to be signed in the next three or four months.
Of the eight identified RRTS corridors to connect NCR towns, three have been prioritised for implementation in Phase 1 by the Planning Commission-appointed task force. The three routes are—Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror Urban Complex-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat.
