Inside India's first rapid rail service that gets operational in three weeks

New Delhi, Feb 12:  The country's first rapid rail with amenities similar to an airplane will start running from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad to Duhai Depot from March, 2023.

It will be run on 17-km stretch of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai depot at a speed of 180 km per hour and tickets for the journey can be availed through mobile phones and card.

The track on the section has been laid and the work of installation of overhead line equipment is almost done.

A unique facility that the train will be extending is that a stretcher has been arranged in its last compartment. If a patient is referred from Meerut to Delhi, then a separate coach will be arranged for the same, so that they can be transported at a lower cost of travel.

Along with this, separate coaches have been arranged for women and separate seats have been prepared for the disabled, which can be folded when not in use.

The train has adjustable chairs and special arrangements have been made for standing passengers.

Facilities on board the train include Wi-Fi, mobile-USB charger, large windows, integrated AC system, automatic door control system, luggage storage, driver interaction system, dynamic route map, CCTV and infotainment system.

Arrangements have been made for parking 13 trains in Duhai yard, so preparations are being made to operate only 13 rapid trains in the first phase, whereas after the construction of the entire route between Delhi and Meerut, a total of 30 rapid trains will be operated.

The Operation and Command Control Centre of the Rapid Rail Corridor is being made at Duhai Yard in Ghaziabad. Operation and control of all rapid trains running on the entire route will be commanded from the operations centre.

The objective of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) corridor project is to decongest the National Capital Region and to curb vehicular traffic, air pollution and ensure balanced regional development.

Entire Delhi to Meerut stretch is scheduled to be completed by 2025 in three phases with the first from Sahibabad to Duhai depot to be operational from March, from Sahibabad to Meerut by March 2024 and from Modipuram in Meerut to Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi by 2025.

The Delhi-Meerut RRTS is a Rs 30,274-crore joint venture of the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government.

The Uttar Pradesh government had allocated Rs 1,326 crore for the project in the current financial year.

According to the RRTS project, 24 stations will be built along the entire corridor.

Recently in a media interaction, Vinay Kumar Singh, MD, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) had said that they expect around 8 lakh passengers to travel by this rapid rail daily by 2025.

Singh said: "Our target is that in 2025, passengers of Delhi will be able to reach Meerut in one hour by rapid rail."

As per Detailed Project Report (DPR) estimates, the train fare will be fixed at around Rs 2 per km. The private agency will not have the right to increase the fare later.

Similar to Metro, the fare will be decided by the committee which is formed under the chairmanship of the judge.

There will be rapid line connectivity on seven lines of Delhi Metro which will be connected to Munirka, INA and Aerocity.

According to RRTS, approval has been received from Haryana and Delhi government for the 106 km route from Sarai Kale Khan to SNB for the rapid rail to be built from Sarai Kale Khan to Alwar.

The Centre's approval is also expected soon.

At present, the pre-construction work is underway, so that the construction work can be started soon after getting the approval.