Delhi to Meerut in 62 minutes: High-speed rail corridor project awaits Delhi govt nod

The 90.2-km corridor will have 17 stations out of which two are proposed in Delhi and the rest in Uttar Pradesh. The UP government has already approved the project.

Commuting between Delhi and Meerut will get smoother with the Delhi government considering giving the green signal to the first line of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between the National Capital and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

The 90.2-km corridor will have 17 stations out of which two are proposed in Delhi and the rest in Uttar Pradesh. (AFP FILE)

A team of National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited (NCRTC) recently made a presentation to Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot and received a positive response, sources said .

“I will take another meeting. The file on approval is yet to reach me. I will examine it. It’s a brilliant idea. Delhi to Meerut in 60 minutes will be a big boon,” said Gahlot.

The 90.2-km corridor will have 17 stations out of which two are proposed in Delhi and the rest in Uttar Pradesh. The UP government has already approved the project.

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“Once we get the approval from the Delhi government, the file will be sent to the Centre. After final approval from the Centre, construction will start. It will take five years to complete it and construction is likely to start by July 2018,” said a NCRTC official.

A meeting was recently held with the Meerut commissioner for notification of the alignment to all departments and authorities concerned.

“The project will change the way India travels as people will leave cars to travel in RRTS. Time saving is the priority of every commuter and the project will help complete the 90.2km journey in 62 minutes,” the official said.

Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar are the two stations in Delhi. Both will be developed as integrated stations.

“Both places have a bus terminal, a railway station and metro station. So we have planned multi-modal integration where a passenger will get to interchange for all modes of transport. Our stations in Anand Vihar and Sarai kale Khan will be underground,” he added.

The daily ridership is expected to be 7.4 lakh and the entire network in Delhi will be underground. The cost of the total project is expected to be Rs 33,000 crore.

“We requested the Meerut authorities to form committees at the district level for identifying utilities to be shifted. Unauthorized encroachments will be removed done with the help of local authorities,” said a NCRTC official.