New Development Bank approves $500 million loan for RRTS rail project

In another major boost for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, that will provide high-speed rail connectivity between Delhi and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh,

In another major boost for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, that will provide high-speed rail connectivity between Delhi and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, the New Development Bank (NDB) has approved a $500 million loan for the project, officials of the NCR Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the body executing the venture, said on Thursday.

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The development comes more than a month after the Asian Development Bank had sanctioned a loan of $1 billion for the project towards August-end.

The RRTS project stretches over a distance of 82km between Delhi and Meerut and once ready,high-speed trains will run between the corridor reducing the travel time. Civil construction work on the project is in full swing over a 50km stretch between Sahibabad in Ghaziabad and Shatabdipuram in Meerut.

The project is pegged at ₹30,274 crore including planned loans to the tune of $2.049 billion.

Approval from the NDB—a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS countries— for the loan came after a board meeting on September 29.

“After the approval from the ADB, the board of the NDB has also approved a loan of $500 million. For the project, loans valued at about $2.049 billion are need. Apart from the two recent approvals, one more loan approval (from a development bank) of $500 million is in the pipeline. The recent development will provide a major boost to the RRTS project,” said Sudhir Sharma, chief public relations officer, NCRTC.

“The NDB Board approved a loan of $500 million to the Republic of India for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Project...The project will develop an efficient and sustainable regional transport system and reduce congestion in Delhi, by offering people the alternative of settling in surrounding cities and being able to commute to Delhi through a fast, reliable, safe and comfortable public transport system,” the NDB said in a press statement.

On September 25, the Ministry of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had unveiled the first look of the RRTS train. For RRTS, NCRTC has proposed 30 trains of six coaches each, which will operate on the main RRTS track of 82kms. The corporation has also proposed 10 trains with three coaches each, which will serve as a local transit module in Meerut. NCRTC had said the prototype is scheduled to roll off the production line in 2022.

The 82km long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is one of the three prioritised RRTS corridors being implemented in phase-1. This is the first RRTS corridor in the country and will overall have 24 stations, including 21 in Uttar Pradesh.

The other two Phase-I corridors are Delhi-Gurugram-SNB and Delhi-Panipat. Officials said pre-construction activities are in full swing for Delhi-Gurugram-SNB corridor and its detailed project report (DPR) is under active consideration of the Centre for sanction. They added that DPR of the Delhi-Panipat RRTS corridor is also under active consideration of the respective state governments for approval.