New Delhi, June 11, 2018: Soon, Delhi and Meerut will be linked with a high-speed Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor – which means that you will be able to travel between the two cities in just 60 minutes! This RRTS corridor, which has already got the nod from Uttar Pradesh government, now awaits clearance from the Delhi government, states a ToI report. The high-speed system that will connect the two cities will be aerodynamic and boast of state-of-the-art trains. The trains aim to provide “business-class luxury” to passengers. The high-speed train system will also have a reserved coach for women, similar to the lines of Delhi Metro. The RRTS project, which is being executed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), is likely to be over by the year 2024, the report added. The RRTS will commence its journey from Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan and will stop at Modipuram in Meerut. En route the 82-kilometre distance between the two cities, the network will pass New Ashok Nagar, Anand Vihar, Ghaziabad and Modinagar. The RRTs will cover 24 stations in total, out of which 3 will be in Delhi.
The train has been designed to run at a speed of 180 kmph. However, the average speed is likely to be 100 kmph. At first, it will have 6 coaches including one business-class coach and one reserved for women. Also, the train will have will have transverse seating as in aircraft. The general coaches of the train will have more standing space and passengers can also enjoy a more comfortable and luxurious ride at the business-class coach for a higher fee. However, the charges have not been decided yet according to financialexpress.com.
According to an NCRTC official quoted in the report, other than providing a bigger seating space, the business-class coach will offer passenger-friendly amenities and there are also plans to provide free Wi-Fi facility. The passengers travelling in the business-class coach can also enjoy the facility of a business lounge at the stations. He also said that a separate lounge will be provided to business-class coach passengers with proper sitting as well as other facilities close to where the business-class coach stops on the platform. Passengers can enter by using the dual automated fare collection gates. One gate will be provided for passengers to enter the paid area of a station and one gate will be set up at the platform level for entry into a business class coach, he added.
The trains will be provided with universal access facilities, which means that even differently abled passengers will easily enter or leave the coaches. Also, the trains will have platform screen doors and CCTV cameras. The Sarai Kale Khan station from where the train will start its journey will become a transit hub with the existing Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and the upcoming Delhi Metro Pink Line station. The Delhi Metro also connects the other two stations in Delhi- New Ashok Nagar and Anand Vihar, where the train will stop. Interestingly, with the presence of an ISBT and railway station, Anand Vihar will also act as another transit hub.
According to the reports published by Devanjana Nag in financialexpress.com other than this project, the NCRTC is also working on two other corridors, namely, Delhi-Panipat line and Delhi-Alwar line. All the three RRTS corridors will start their journey from the RRTS station, which will be constructed at Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi.
Interestingly, even as the RRTS project for awaits clearance from the Delhi government, phase I of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway has been thrown open to public recently. The Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be complete in a few years time and is expected to reduce the travel time to anywhere between 45-60 minutes.
