Eight regional trains will make commuting within NCR fast and hassle-free in the near future

Last week, the Union Cabinet approved the 82 km long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut rapid rail corridor at the cost of Rs 30,274 crore. India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) will take less than an hour from Delhi to Meerut with halts in Ghaziabad and culminate into Metro in Meerut with 12 stations in the last 18 km.

This would effectively remove from the roads more than one lakh vehicles that commute on a daily basis from Meerut to Delhi. The RRTS stations will be integrated with other transport modes like the airport, railway, metro and the inter-state bus terminus in Delhi. There are some EMUs running between Meerut and Delhi, but they are very few and very crowded.

The National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC)— a joint venture of the Union Government, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan —is the implementing agency under the administrative control of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.

The proposed Regional Rapid Transit System

Phase I Projects: expected to be complete by 2025

1. Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat RRTS Corridor: 103 km
2. Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor: 82 km
3. Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar RRTS Corridor: 164 km

Phase II Projects: proposed to be ready by 2032

4. Delhi-Faridabad-Ballabhgarh-Palwal RRTS Corridor
5. Ghaziabad-Khurja RRTS Corridor
6. Delhi-Bahadurgarh-Rohtak RRTS Corridor
7. Ghaziabad-Hapur RRTS Corridor
8. Delhi-Shahdara-Baraut RRTS Corridor