Centre’s go-ahead for Delhi-meerut rapid rail project

GHAZIABAD: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) on Tuesday approved the constructionofthedelhi-ghaziabadmeerut high speed rail corridor. It is one of the three rapid rail corridors planned under Phase 1 of the Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) project of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation(ncrtc).

The RRTS is a first-of-its-kind, rail-based, high-speed regional transit system to be implemented in the country. Once operational, it will be the fastest, most comfortable and safest mode of commuter transport in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The project, estimated to cost a total of ₹30,274 crore, will be majorly boost connectivity between Delhi and western UP areas, besides reducing congestion and air pollution. The corridor is expected to take nearly one lakh vehicles off the road in the two cities.

The RRTS will reduce the travelling time between Delhi and Meerut to about 55 minutes. The air-conditioned trains are designed to travel at a speed of 180km per hour and will be available at a frequency of 5-10 minutes.

“The cabinet has approved construction of RRTS covering a distance of 82.15km,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said after the meeting.

The officials of the NCRTC said they have already floated tenders for the construction activities and contractors will be finalised soon. As part of the project, the NCRTC will first construct the Sahibabad to Duhai stretch in Ghaziabad.

“With the Cabinet approval, we will now fast track the work on different stretches. Since we have already initiated pre-construction work, the construction activities will be taken up in Uttar Pradesh initially,” Sudhir Sharma, chief public relations officer, NCRTC, said.

In addition to approving the estimated budget of ₹30,274 crore, a central financial assistance of ₹5, 634 crore, in the form of grant and subordinate debt, has also been provided.

To NCRTC is also in talks to obtain a loan to the tune of 60% of the project cost. Sources said the major portion of remaining 40% will be borne by the Centre and the UP government, while about ₹1,150 crore is expected to be borne by Delhi.