Budget 2020-21: Rs 2,487 cr allocated for RRTS projects

In a boost to connectivity in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Union government on Saturday allocated Rs 2,487 crore to RRTS projects for the next fiscal, nearly three-fold increase over the 2019-20 financial year. In 2019-20, the Centre had allocated Rs 824 crore for the country's first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).

Out of the eight identified RRTS corridors to connect various NCR towns with high-speed rail commute, three had been prioritised for implementation in Phase-1 by the then Planning Commission appointed Task Force. These are Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat. According to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the implementing agency of the RRTS project, the civil construction of the first RRTS Corridor --- Delhi–Ghaziabad–Meerut corridor -- is in full swing and piling and pier works are being done on the 17-km priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai.

"With a design speed of 180 kmph and operational speed of 160 kmph, the RRTS trains will be unique and one of its kind in India. The aerodynamic coaches will be self-propelled on electric traction with 25KV AC System. The RRTS trains are being designed with the state-of-the-art latest technology," the NCRTC said in a statement. The Delhi–Ghaziabad–Meerut RRTS corridor will be immensely beneficial in curbing pollution in the region. The high-speed rail will promise to cover the distance between Meerut and Delhi in less than 60 minutes, it said.