Delhi-Meerut high-speed rail corridor in Delhi govt’s court

FAST LINK NCR transport officials submit presentation to Delhi govt, work may start next yr

Commuting between Delhi and Meerut will get smoother with the Delhi government considering giving the green signal to the first line of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between the Capital and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

A team of National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited (NCRTC) recently made a presentation to Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot and received a positive response, sources said . “I will take another meeting. The file on approval is yet to reach me. I will examine it. It’s a brilliant idea. Delhi to Meerut in 60 minutes will be a big boon,” said Gahlot.

The 90.2-km corridor will have 17 stations out of which two are proposed in Delhi and the rest in UP. The UP government has already approved the project.

“Once we get the approval from Delhi government, the file will be sent to the Centre. After final approval from the Centre, construction will start. It will take five years to complete it and construction is likely to start by July 2018,” said a NCRTC official.

The NCRTC has posted field unit and other officers for the corridor and project offices for them are being set up. Tenders for geotechnical investigation, etc., are being finalised.

A meeting was recently held with the Meerut commissioner for notification of the alignment to all departments and authorities concerned.

“The project will change the way India travels . Time saving is the priority of every commuter and the project will help complete the 90.2 km journey in 62 minutes,” the official said.

Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar will be developed as integrated stations.

“Both places have a bus terminal, a railway station and metro station. So we have planned multi-modal integration where a passenger will get to interchange for all modes of transport. Our stations in Anand Vihar and Sarai kale Khan will be underground,” he added.