The Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) has achieved 67.3 per cent physical progress and 60 per cent financial progress till 31 October this year, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday (4 December).
In a written reply, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore said the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 30,274 crore, out of which, an expenditure of Rs 18,160.81 crore has been incurred on the project.
On 20 October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 17-km-long priority section of the Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail corridor.
The 82-km-long Delhi-Meerut corridor from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh encompasses 25 stations, with three in Delhi, eight in Ghaziabad, and the remaining in Meerut.
The 17-km priority section in Ghaziabad, with five stations — Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot, was opened for passengers on 21 October, a day after its inauguration.
The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Modi on 8 March 2019. The entire corridor is targeted to be commissioned by June 2025 and will reduce the current time taken between Delhi and Meerut from three hours to less than one hour.
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation, which is implementing the project had initially named RRTS trains as ‘RapidX’. However, trains of the RRTS were later renamed as ‘NaMo Bharat’.
The Namo Bharat trains have a designed speed potential of 180 kmph and operational speed potential of 160 kmph, making them semi-high speed train sets.
The initiative, is designed to provide high-speed trains for intercity commuting every 15 minutes, which can go up to a frequency of every five minutes according to requirement.
With an average speed of 100 kmph, these indigenously manufactured trains will be much faster than the Delhi Metro and the Indian Railways’ trains.