Good News for Delhi-NCR; Delhi-Alwar RRTS Phase-1 Corridor Sanctioned

There is big news for the residents of Delhi and Haryana. The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) board has sanctioned the project proposal for a part of the Delhi – Alwar Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) corridor. According to reports, the 1^st phase of the construction project has been approved by the NCRTC and the construction on the corridor will begin between Delhi and Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror Urban Complex via Gurgaon.

According to the proposal, the 1^st phase will be 106 km long with 11 elevated stations and 5 underground stations. The underground stations of the route will be in Gurgaon as well as Delhi. The RRTS project will also merge with the Delhi Metro at 4 stations, that is, Jor Bagh, Munirka Sarai Kale Khan and Aerocity.

Important features of the RRTS:

• RRTS trains will run at an average speed of 100 kilometers/hour and with a frequency of 5 to 10 minutes. There will be a business class coach in each train so that many people can make use of the line and leave their vehicles behind.

• The corridor is likely to cut the travel time between Delhi and Shahjahanpur - Neemrana-Behror Urban Complex to below 70 minutes.

• The corridor is intended to be constructed in about 5 years excluding 1 year of pre-construction activities at a base construction cost of Rs 24975 crore (funded 20 percent by Central Government, 20 percent by state governments and 60 percent by bilateral and multilateral funding agencies).

NCRTC is a joint scheme of the government of India and state governments of Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The earlier proposal of connecting Delhi and Meerut city through the rapid rail system is still wedged with the Delhi government over the reason whether the transit hub at Sarai Kale Khan should be elevated or underground. In this regard, the MoHUA wrote to Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, urging that their proposal to build a hub be approved as it will be cost-effective. But Delhi government maintained that it will agree only to an underground station and is checking the proposal and has presented its concerns to the ministry.

If the consent for the proposal is approved, Sarai Kale Khan will be a multi-modal transit hub and Nizamuddin Railway Station, Sarai Kale Khan Inter-State Bus Transit station, Nizamuddin metro station (pink line) and the RRTS link connected at the same spot.