UP budget earmarks Rs 400 crore for rapid rail project in NCR

The Uttar Pradesh government has sought to give a boost to rapid rail projects in the NCR region with its 2019-20 budget allocating Rs 400 crores to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for the regional rapid transport system (RRTS) project. In the union budget, Rs 1,000 crores was allocated to this project. The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor is 82-km-long and will have 22 stations. Its detailed project report (DPR) has already been approved by UP government, while the in principle approval of the Delhi government was received recently, officials added.

Pre-construction activities such as geo-technical survey, road widening work, utility diversion work, initial pile load testing and other related works are already going on in full swing, the officials added. The high-speed rail will cover the distance from Meerut to New Delhi in less than 60 minutes. It is a new, dedicated, high speed, high capacity, comfortable commuter service connecting regional nodes of NCR to Delhi.

The NCRTC has already set up its field offices in Ghaziabad, Meerut, and Delhi, posted officers and mobilised resources. This corridor is expected to be completed by 2025. The NCRTC is a joint venture of the Union, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan governments and is executing three prioritized RRTS corridors - Delhi-Alwar, Delhi-Meerut, and Delhi-Panipat in the first phase. Eight such corridors have been identified under the Integrated Transportation Plan 2032 prepared by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).