Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System

On 8 March 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the corridor.[7] Local transit services will also be provided on the Delhi-Meerut RRTS network in Meerut with a span of 21 km (13 mi) for local transit needs.

NCRTC initiated the civil construction work on the 17 km (11 mi) long priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai to meet the target of opening it for regular operations by March 2023.[8] The civil construction work was initiated within three months of the foundation stone ceremony. The entire 82 km (51 mi) long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, however, will be operational by June 2025.[1]

Following the Galwan Valley skirmish on 15 June 2020, there were calls by Swadeshi Jagran Manch for the Government to cancel the bid of a Chinese company related to the transit system.[9][10] The trains are being built by Alstom's manufacturing plant in Savli, Gujarat. [11]

Length of the corridor: 82 km (51 mi)

No. of stations: 14

Names of stations: Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar, Anand Vihar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Muradnagar, Modinagar South, Modinagar North, Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram.

No. of depots: 2

Names of depots: Duhai and Modipuram.

8 stations constructed exclusively for local transit services in Meerut: Partapur, Rithani, Brahmapuri, Meerut Central, Bhaisali, MES Colony, Daurli and Meerut North.

4 stations where both RRTS and local transit services in Meerut will be provided: Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram.

Of the entire length, 68.03 km (42.27 mi) is elevated, 14.12 km (8.77 mi) is underground.[4] and 1.45 km (0.90 mi) will be at grade for connections to two depots that will come up at Duhai and Modipuram. In densely populated areas of Delhi and Meerut, the route will be underground, including that of the river Yamuna.[5] The entire route is designed for a maximum speed of 180 km/h (111.85 mph) and the operating speed will be 160 km/h (99.42 mph).[12][13] Average speed (including all the stops) will come around 100 km/h (62.14 mph).[13]

The Delhi-Meerut corridor starts from Sarai Kale Khan station in Delhi. The corridor will pass through areas of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut, terminating at Modipuram in Meerut.[4][5]

Sarai Kale Khan will also become a transit hub with the presence of Sarai Kale Khan - Nizamuddin metro station, Sarai Kale Khan ISBT and the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in vicinity.[5]

The 38.05 km (23.64 mi) long Sahibabad - Meerut South section, including Duhai Depot, is expected to become operational by January 2023, the 16.60 km (10.31 mi) Hazrat Nizamuddin - Sahibabad in January 2024 and the remaining 37.40 km (23.24 mi) Meerut South - Modipuram in July 2024.[5]

There will be a total of 16 stations [14] Multimodal transport hubs for integration with existing transportation such as Delhi Metro, Indian Railways, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) bus terminals are planned at Anand Vihar, Sahibabad and Shaheed Sthal stations.[15]

Delhi Ghaziabad Meerut RRTS

• The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is the first RRTS corridor to be implemented in India.
• Multi-Modal Integration: RRTS stations would be integrated with various modes of transport like Airports, Railway Stations, Inter-State Bus Terminals, Delhi Metro Stations etc. It will facilitate seamless movement of commuters from one mode to another. Seamless integration between different modes of transport encourages people to use public transport.[16]
• Platform Screen Doors: All the RRTS stations will have platform screen doors for enhanced commuter safety.[17]
• Implementation of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor is expected to shift the modal share in favour of public transport from 37% to 63% in the region, which ultimately helps in curbing pollution.[18]
• As per estimates, this corridor will significantly reduce air pollutants, namely PM 2.5 by 60,000 tonnes, Nitrogen Oxide by 475,000 tonnes, Hydrocarbons by 80,000 tonnes and Carbon Monoxide by 80,000 tonnes per annum.

• Multilateral Funding: About $1 billion from Asian Development Bank (ADB), $500 mn from New Development Bank (NDB) and $500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).[19][20]
• Contribution from governments: From Government of India: 20%, from Government of Delhi: 3.22% and from Government of Uttar Pradesh: 16.78%.[21]

National Capital Region Transport Corporation has decided to equip the line with European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 signalling solution. Tenders for its procurement were invited on 17 April 2020.[22]

Illustration of RRTS Meerut Trainset

On 1 May 2020, Alstom emerged as the lowest bidder among a group of three bidders to supply and maintain 210 coaches. The coaches will be built in Alstom's plant in Gujarat.[23] The RRTS rolling stock will be first of its kind in India with a design speed of 180 km/h (110 mph). The entire rolling stock for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor will be manufactured in India.[24] NCRTC recently unveiled the first look of the RRTS trains.[25]

• May 2017: Government of Uttar Pradesh approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Delhi-Meerut RRTS project.[26][27]
• Feb 2019: Central Government approved ₹ 30,274 crores for Delhi-Meerut RRTS project.[28]
• Mar 2019: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for this project.[29]
• Jun 2019: Pillar construction work started.[30]
• Oct 2020: Civil construction work on about 50 km (31 mi) between Sahibabad and Shatabdi Nagar is in progress.[31]
• Feb 2021: Construction of Anand Vihar Station of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor begins.[32]
• Apr 2021: Track laying started for Delhi-Meerut RRTS project in Ghaziabad section of the corridor.[33]
• Jun 2021: First pier of elevated section of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor of Sarai Kale Khan part is constructed, as of 4 June.[34]
• Jun 2021: Construction work on the first part of the underground portion of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor begins in Anand Vihar, as of 20 June.[35]
• Jul 2021: Piers completed in 24 km (15 mi) elevated stretch of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor, as of 10 July.[36]
• Jul 2021: Alstom begins manufacturing of 210 modular rakes for Delhi-Meerut RRTS project. These rakes will be fully indigenously manufactured in Alstom's manufacturing plant in Savli, Gujarat, as of 17 July.[37]
• Aug 2021: 650 hectares of land alongside the section between Guldhar and Duhai RRTS Stations to be developed as a commercial, residential and industrial hub, as of 25 August.[38]
• Aug 2021: Construction work on the second part of the underground portion of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor begins in Meerut, as of 29 August.[39]
• Sep 2021: Installation of Overhead Equipment (OHE) lines begins in Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor.
• Oct 2021: Tenders issued for construction of Modipuram depot for Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor.[40]
• Dec 2021: NCRTC constructs 50 spans in the priority corridor, which could possibly open in the middle of 2022, ahead of the deadline of 2023.[41][42]
• Dec 2021: Datamatics Global Services – AEP Ticketing Solutions JV Awarded the Rs. 227 crore Contract for the AFC System. [43]
• Jan 2022: Nokia and Alstom deploy a private wireless network system based on LTE/4.9G with support for ETCS-II signalling for RRTS for better communication.[44]
• Mar 2022: On 16th March, NCRTC unveiled the first coaches of the RRTS train, which will be used for operations after the completion of the construction of the priority corridor.[45]
• Mar 2022: On 18th March, the tunneling work for the underground section of the RRTS corridor in Meerut is started by NCRTC.[46]
• Mar 2022: Paytm Payments Bank wins the bid for becoming the financial institution for the RRTS corridor AFC Systems, beating State Bank of India. NCRTC issued the Letter of Acceptance on 3 March 2022. Paytm will work with Datamatics Global Services – AEP Ticketing Solutions (DM-AEP-26A JV) to deploy the fare system.[47]
• Apr 2022: The total construction work completed for the RRTS corridor is about 25%. The priority corridor is expected to be functional by the end of 2022, or on the scheduled target of March 2023.[48]

• Delhi–Alwar Regional Rapid Transit System
• Delhi–Panipat Regional Rapid Transit System