‘Segment of rapid rail corridor to be operational by March 2023’.

Commuters will be able to travel on the country’s first rapid rail transit corridor in just four years as its 17-km-long Duhai-Sahibabad section in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad is expected to be operational by early 2023, an official said recently.

The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the executing agency of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), said that the entire Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, spanning 82 km, will be operational by 2025.

The corridor will cut travel time between Delhi and Meerut to around 55 minutes from the current three-four hours by road.

The NCRTC has already commenced civil construction work on the 17-km-long Duhai-Sahibabad section of the corridor.

It will have four stations: Duhai, Guldhar, Ghaziabad and Sahibabad, besides a depot at Duhai.

More connectivity

“This priority section is expected to become operational by March 2023, while people can avail the benefit of fast and safe commute on the 82-km-long full corridor by 2025,” the official said.

The opening of the Duhai-Sahibabad section will connect the Ghaziabad RRTS station to Delhi Metro’s Ghaziabad New Bus Adda station, while the Sahibabad RRTS station will integrate with the proposed Vasundhara Sector 2 metro station and bus terminal.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor will have a total of 24 stations, including two depot-cum-stations at Duhai and Modipuram. “The RRTS trains have a design speed of 180 kmph, operational speed of 160 kmph and the average speed will be 100 kmph. The trains will be three times faster than the Delhi Metro trains in terms of operational speed,” the official added.

The distance between the stations will vary from 5 km to 10 km.

THE HINDU