The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), the regional transport body in and around the NCR, is building India’s first rapid rail transit system on the Delhi-Meerut corridor. Called the Delhi-Meerut RRTS, the urban rail transport system will span a length of 82.15 km. The semi-high speed rail line under construction is where trains will pass through a series of tunnels and elevated bridges at a speed of 160 km/h, while the maximum speed is pegged at 180 km/h. The priority section is expected to be inaugurated by mid-2023 and will extend the Sahibabad-Duhai section by 11 kms through 4 elevated stations.
NCRTC is also planning to give priority to RRTS in two other corridors like the Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar route, which will stretch for about 180 km, while the Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat route will stretch for about 111 km. Like the suburban railway network in Europe, the Indian urban rail network will boast of modern trains with Wi-Fi, AC, among other amenities.
Delhi-Alwar RRTS Corridor
NCRTC aims to connect tier 1 cities adjacent to Delhi for commuters who are either dependent on road transport or regular train network which is slow for daily commuters. While the first RRTS corridor connects NCR with Uttar Pradesh, the second one aims to connect NCR with Alwar in Rajasthan. The initial plan is to connect Delhi with Alwar using a high-speed train, but reports suggest that the Rajasthan government has shown interest in extending the RRTS corridor to Jaipur, a major tourist hub in India. The RRTS corridor will cover Gurgaon in Haryana to reach Jaipur.
Delhi-Panipat RRTS Corridor
Haryana is another state bordering the NCT of Delhi and the RRTS corridor aims to reach Panipat in Haryana, which is only 100 km from here. Like the Rajasthan government, the Haryana government has proposed to extend the Delhi-Panipat phase of the RRTS up to Karnal. This route further goes up to Chandigarh and can be further extended up to the Union Territory of Chandigarh.