New Delhi (Metro Rail & Steel) : In a significant move for India’s transportation landscape, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated country’s first intercity rapid rail, ‘RapidX’ from Uttar Pradesh’s Sahibabad on October 20, 2023. This event marked the launch of India’s Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor. The foundation stone for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor was laid by the Prime Minister on 8th March 2019.
The PM commenced the proceedings by inaugurating the priority section of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor at 11:15 am. The first 17 kilometers of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor will now be operational from tomorrow, i.e. October 21st 2023.
This priority section includes five operational stations; sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, and Duhai depot. The complete corridor is 82 kilometers long, with 68 kilometers elevated and 14 kilometers underground. At a maximum speed of 160 km/hr, it promises to cut travel time from Delhi to Meerut to less than an hour, covering the distance in 62 minutes. RRTS is a new rail-based, semi-high-speed, high-frequency commuter transit system.
The RapidX trains have been designed with passenger comfort and accessibility in mind. Each train will feature one premium coach with amenities such as reclining seats, coat hooks, magazine holders, and footrests. Access to the premium coach will be available exclusively through a premium lounge on the platform. Additionally, one coach in every train is reserved for women, and the last coach has designated spaces for wheelchairs and stretchers.
Initially, the NCRTC had awarded the tender for manufacturing the rolling stocks for the RRTS to Bombardier, a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, for the making of 210 coaches at a cost of Rs. 2,577 crore in May 2020, but later Bombardier rail business was merged with Alstom, a French multinational company and Alstom came in picture. The trainsets have been manufactured at their manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
In total, eight RRTS corridors have been identified for development in the National Capital Region, with three corridors prioritized for Phase-I implementation. These include the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor, the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar Corridor, and the Delhi-Panipat Corridor. The RRTS system can accommodate 1500-1700 passengers at a time. In line with PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, the RRTS network will have extensive multi-modal-integration with Railway stations, Metro stations, Bus services etc.
This project is overseen by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) jointly owned by the central and state governments with central govt. having 50% stake and other states like Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh holds 12.5% stake each. The NCRTC is made to provide a safe, reliable, and seamless travel experience between Delhi and other NCR cities.
