NEW DELHI: The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) said it has achieved a significant milestone in its journey to provide the country with an advanced and transformative transit service through the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor.
On October 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first RRTS and flagged off the Namo Bharat train. With this, the 17-kilometer-long Priority Section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot was operationalised for the public.
For NCRCTC, the year began with the commencement of trial runs on the Priority Section. These trial runs began in the first week of January 2023. During these trial runs, various sub-systems of the RRTS, such as the rolling stock, ETCS-2 signalling on the LTE network, ballastless track, and overhead equipment, were tested independently and later in synergy with each other to ensure their safe and compliant implementation and compatibility.
Stepping ahead in this direction, in June 2023, the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) approved the operation of Namo Bharat train services on the Priority Section between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot.
In the journey of providing rapid regional connectivity in the NCR, another crucial milestone was achieved when the tunnelling work for the entire Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor was completed successfully. This corridor has a total of four underground stations: Anand Vihar in Delhi, and Meerut Central, Bhainsali, and Begumpul in Meerut.
In step with its commitment to adopt renewable energy and sustainable practices, NCRTC established a state-of-the-art Solar Power Plant at RRTS Depot at Duhai and Sahibabad RRTS Station and Duhai Depot RRTS Station. In the year 2023, what was noteworthy for NCRCTC was not only the revolutionary changes being made in the urban landscape through the RRTS project but also the recognition garnered for the innovative technologies, novel approaches, and strategic decisions implemented in it. The project not only received appreciation but also won several awards.
This year, NCRCTC organized various skill development training programs in the villages of Ghaziabad and Meerut districts. In this series, farmers were trained in modern agricultural techniques, and women were provided self-defence training.After the commencement of operation of the Priority Section on the Delhi-Meerut-Ghaziabad RRTS corridor, the trial run has now begun in the section ahead of it.
Currently, the trains are running from Duhai Station to Murad Nagar Station and then further to Modi Nagar South, covering a distance of approximately 12 kilometres. The 25 km stretch between Duhai and Meerut South RRTS station is the next section of the RRTS corridor to be operationalized for the public after the Priority Section. This section has a total of 4 stations, namely Murad Nagar, Modi Nagar North, Modi Nagar South, and Meerut South. In June, the construction of the viaduct up to Meerut South was completed with the installation of the last span.