Modi lays foundation stone for Delhi-Meerut RRTS project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stones for the construction of India's first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut and the Meerut Metro Service at Sikandarpur in Ghaziabad.

The rapid rail corridor will be built at a cost of Rs 30,274 crore and is scheduled to be operational by 2024. The corridor will be the first RRTS project in the country, the Prime Minister told the gathering present at the inauguration ceremony.

Both the rapid rail and the metro will run on this corridor in Meerut. Once completed, the 82 km stretch between Delhi and Meerut will be covered in less than an hour. The rapid rail would offer high-speed, high-frequency, safe, reliable, comfortable and green public transit.

The operating speed of the RRTS would be 160 km per hour with an average speed of 100 km per hour. The frequency of the trains would be between 5 and 10 minutes and there would be an RRTS station every 5-10 km.

Addressing a gathering in Meerut, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri said: "The population in the cities is increasing rapidly. Therefore, public transport and inter-city linkages are a must. The rapid transit system would help people who prefer to live in Meerut or the National Capital Region and travel to Delhi for work.

"I am confident that the RRTS project would be completed on time and will improve the ease of living of people residing in Meerut and nearby areas. It will also improve the region's economic situation."

The RRTS will pass through some of the most densely populated sections in Delhi and Meerut. Starting from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, the corridor will go up to Modipuram in Meerut, joining many urban areas such as Anand Vihar in Delhi, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Muradnagar and Modinagar in Uttar Pradesh.

The Meerut Metro will have 12 stations in a 18 kilometre stretch between Modipuram and Meerut South on the RRTS infrastructure. Building the Meerut Metro on the RRTS infrastructure would also result in an overall cost saving of approximately Rs 6,300 crore.

While the Meerut Metro would be mostly elevated, it would run underground in high density areas like Bramhapuri, Meerut Central, Bhaisali and Begumpul.

The RRTS trains will be equipped with all modern features like air-conditioners, CCTV surveillance, mobile and laptop charging points and luggage space. All the stations and trains will have universal access for the differently abled. Each train will have a business class and a ladies' coach.

The RRTS stations will be integrated with other modes of transports. All the three corridors of the Phase I of RRTS will be inter-operable so that the passengers don't need to change trains to go from one corridor to the other.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is the first of the three prioritised corridors planned for implementation in Phase-1. The other two are Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat, an official said.

--IANS

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