NEW DELHI: Travel from Delhi to Meerut can be completed in 60 minutes by rapid rail. The ambitious rapid rail project will soon make Uttar Pradesh country’s first state to get Rapid Rail in the first phase of implementation of Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).
In the NCR, traffic jam is a major problem, which affects the area economically as well as financially. About 46 million people live in 58 thousand square kilometres of NCR. 39 per cent of the NCR population lives in Delhi. The Rapid Rail will save time, environment and money of the commuters.
In Ghaziabad district, seven stations of Rapid Rail were proposed. But after getting the last consent from the District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari, all the stations have now been stamped. For this project, the land of the farmers of 10 villages will be purchased directly. There will be no role of administration. The speed of this train will be 180 kilometers per hour.
Officials of National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC) have gathered in preparation for the construction of Rapid Rail. After this work on Kawad Yatra, the work on the project has to be started for this, the road has been widened from Meerut to Dahai. Soil investigation is already complete. In this regard, the crucial decision was taken in the NCRTC meeting with the District Magistrate. Prior to the start of the work of Rapid Rail, the District Magistrate was apprised and given the final consent of the DM.
Farmers’ land of ten villages will be purchased for Rapid Rail. The special thing is that the land will be taken directly from farmers. The land will not be acquired through administration. Administration’s work will be linked to compensation only. For this, the District Magistrate has been constituted under the leadership of Additional District Magistrate.
District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari said, “Talks with NCRTC officials have been done. Many decisions have been finalized. The committee has also been formed to solve the problem of farmers.
The 92 km long Rapid Rail Corridor is to be constructed from Delhi Sarai Kale Khand to Modipuram. In the Ghaziabad area, Sahibabad (before the industrial area crossroads), the new bus stand (near Meerut Thirah), Guldhar (in front of Vikasnagar), Duhai (in front of Baba Banarasi Das Institute and Technology), Muradnagar (in front of Indian Oil Petrol Pump) , Modinagar North (in front of ICICI Bank) and Modinagar South (front of Modi Garden) stations
Rapid Rail network will be linked to all major airports, ISBT and Metro stations.
The train has been designed to run at a speed of 180 kmph. However, it will cover the average speed of 100 Kmph. It will reduce the time to travel from Delhi to Meerut. Commuters now reach Delhi in less than 60 minutes to Meerut. At first, it will have 6 coaches including one business-class coach and one reserved for women. Also, the train will have will have transverse seating as in aircraft. The general coaches of the train will have more standing space and passengers can also enjoy a more comfortable and luxurious ride at the business-class coach for a higher fee. However, the charges have not been decided yet. The trains will have platform screen doors and CCTV cameras too with free Wi-Fi facility.
Other than this project, the NCRTC is also working on two other corridors, namely, Delhi-Panipat line and Delhi-Alwar line. All the three RRTS corridors will start their journey from the RRTS station, which will be constructed at Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi.