Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System

On 8 March 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the corridor.[11] Local transit services will also be provided on the Delhi-Meerut RRTS network in Meerut with 21 km (13 mi) allotted for local transit needs.[12]

The NCRTC planned for the 17 km (11 mi) long priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai to begin regular operations by March 2023.[13] The entire 82 km (51 mi) long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is expected be operational by June 2025.[1]

Following the Galwan Valley skirmish on 15 June 2020, there were calls by Swadeshi Jagran Manch for the Government to cancel the bid of a Chinese company related to the transit system.[14][15] The trains are being made by Alstom's manufacturing plant in Savli, Gujarat.[16]

The project was chosen ahead of Delhi–Alwar and Delhi–Panipat projects due to high frequency of travellers and traffic between Delhi and Meerut, to execute the project and reduce pollution, congestion and risk of accidents.[17]

• Length of the corridor: 82 km (51 mi)
• No. of stations: 14
• Names of stations: Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar, Anand Vihar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Muradnagar, Modinagar South, Modinagar North, Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram.
• No. of depots: 2
• Names of depots: Duhai and Modipuram.

8 stations were constructed exclusively for local transit services in Meerut: Partapur, Rithani, Brahmapuri, Meerut Central, Bhaisali, MES Colony, Daurli and Meerut North.

4 stations for which both RRTS and local transit services in Meerut will be provided: Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram.

Of the entire length, 68.03 km (42.27 mi) is elevated, 14.12 km (8.77 mi) is underground.[4] and 1.45 km (0.90 mi) will be at grade for connections to two depots to be located at Duhai and Modipuram. In densely populated areas of Delhi and Meerut the route will be underground including near the Yamuna river.[6] The entire route is designed for a maximum speed of 180 km/h (110 mph), with an operating speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).[18][19] The average speed (when taking stops into account) will be approximately 100 km/h (62 mph).[19]

The Delhi-Meerut corridor starts from Sarai Kale Khan station in Delhi. The corridor will pass through areas of Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Meerut; terminating at Modipuram in Meerut.[4][6]

Sarai Kale Khan will also become a transit hub with the Sarai Kale Khan - Nizamuddin metro station, the Sarai Kale Khan ISBT, and the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in vicinity.[6]

The 38.05 km (23.64 mi) long Sahibabad - Meerut South section, including Duhai Depot, is expected to become operational by January 2024, the 16.60 km (10.31 mi) Hazrat Nizamuddin - Sahibabad in January 2024 and the remaining 37.40 km (23.24 mi) Meerut South - Modipuram in July 2024.[6]

There will be a total of 16 stations.[4] Multimodal transport hubs will be combined with existing transportation such as Delhi Metro, Indian Railways, and Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) bus terminals (planned at Anand Vihar, Sahibabad and Shaheed Sthal stations).[20]

• The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is the first RRTS corridor to be implemented in India.
• Multi-Modal Integration: RRTS stations will be integrated with various modes of transport like Airports, Railway Stations, Inter-State Bus Terminals, Delhi Metro Stations etc. It will facilitate the movement of commuters between modes.[21]
• Platform Screen Doors: All of the RRTS stations will have platform screen doors for enhanced commuter safety.[22]
• The implementation of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor is expected to shift the modal share in favour of public transport from 37% to 63% in the region, which is projected to result in a reduction in traffic.[23]
• As per estimates, this corridor will significantly reduce air pollutants, namely PM 2.5 by 60,000 tonnes, Nitrogen Oxide by 475,000 tonnes, Hydrocarbons by 80,000 tonnes and Carbon Monoxide by 80,000 tonnes per year.

• Multilateral Funding: About $1 billion from Asian Development Bank (ADB), $500 million from New Development Bank (NDB) and $500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).[24][25]
• Contribution from governments: From Government of India: 20%, from Government of Delhi: 3.22%, and from Government of Uttar Pradesh: 16.78%.[26]

The NCRTC has divided the Civil Construction work of Delhi-Meerut RRTS (22 stations and 2 Depots) into 08 (eight) packages. The list of all construction contract is as follows:[27]

Note: Package-1 and Package-2 are part of the priority section on Delhi-Meerut RRTS.

The NCRTC has decided to equip the line with ETCS L2 signalling. Tenders for its procurement were invited on 17 April 2020[28] and Alstom was awarded the contract worth approximately ₹937 crore (US$120 million) in January 2021.[29]

Nokia partnered with Alstom to implement the 4.9G/LTE private wireless network to support the ETCS L2 signalling. This is the first time in the world that an LTE network is being used along with ETCS L2 signalling.[30]

On 1 May 2020, Alstom (then Bombardier Transportation before it was acquired by Alstom in January 2021[31]) emerged as the lowest bidder among a group of three bidders to supply and maintain 210 coaches for a 15 year period, with a price bid of ₹2,577 crore (US$320 million). The 210 coaches include 180 coaches (30 six-car trains) for RRTS and 30 coaches (10 three-car trains) for Meerut Metro.[32][33]

In September 2020, the NCRTC first unveiled the RRTS train, the design of which is inspired by the Lotus Temple. Designed in Hyderabad, the trains have a design speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) and an operational speed of 160 km/h (100 mph). Each fully air-conditioned, six-car trainset will be able to carry 1750 passengers and will have one premium coach and one coach reserved for women.[34][33] It is compatible with a host of train protection systems like automatic train protection (ATP) and automatic train control (ATC) systems and also has features like regenerative braking.[33]

The entire rolling stock will be manufactured in India, at Alstom's plant in Savli, Gujarat.[35][36] Manufacturing began in July 2021[37] and the first trainset was delivered to NCRTC in May 2022.[33]

• May 2017: The Government of Uttar Pradesh approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Delhi-Meerut RRTS project.[38][39]
• Feb 2019: The Central Government approved ₹ 30,274 crores for the Delhi-Meerut RRTS project.[40]
• Mar 2019: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for this project.[41]
• Jun 2019: Pillar construction work started.[42]
• Oct 2020: Civil construction work on about 50 km (31 mi) between Sahibabad and Shatabdi Nagar was in progress.[43]
• Feb 2021: The construction of the Anand Vihar Station of Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor began.[44]
• Apr 2021: Track laying started for the Ghaziabad section of the corridor.[45]
• Jun 2021: The first elevated section pier (namely for the Sarai Kale Khan section) is constructed.[46]
• Jun 2021: Construction work on the first part of the underground portion of began (in Anand Vihar).[47]
• Jul 2021: The piers were completed for the 24 km (15 mi) elevated stretch.[48]
• Jul 2021: Alstom began manufacturing 210 trains. These will be manufactured in Alstom's manufacturing plant in Savli, Gujarat.[49]
• Aug 2021: It was announced that 650 hectares of land between Guldhar and Duhai RRTS Stations will be developed as a commercial, residential and industrial hub.[50]
• Aug 2021: Construction work on the second underground section began in Meerut.[51]
• Sep 2021: The installation of Overhead Equipment (OHE) lines began.
• Oct 2021: Tenders was issued for the construction of the Modipuram depot.[52]
• Dec 2021: Datamatics Global Services – AEP Ticketing Solutions JV was awarded a Rs. 227 crore Contract for the AFC System.[53]
• Jan 2022: Nokia and Alstom deployed a private wireless network system based on LTE/4.9G with support for ETCS-II signalling.[54]
• Mar 2022: The NCRTC unveiled the first images of the RRTS trains, which will be used for operations after the completion of the construction of the priority corridor.[55]
• Mar 2022: The tunneling work for the underground section of the RRTS corridor in Meerut began.[56]
• Mar 2022: Paytm Payments Bank won the bid for becoming the financial institution responsible for the fare system, beating the State Bank of India.[57]
• Apr 2022: Roughly 25% of the corridor was completed.[58]
• May 2022: Alstom manufactured the first train in Savli, Gujarat.[59]
• Aug 2022: First trial of the first trainset has been successfully completed.[60]
• Feb 2023: The trial runs for the trains, including high-speed tests, have been completed, and now there are a total of six trains. The 17-km priority corridor from Sahibabad to Duhai is at its final stages of work, and is confirmed to be opened by mid-June 2023. The second stretch from Duhai to South Meerut will be opened by the first quarter of 2024, and the entire corridor will become operational by March 2025.[61][62][63]
• Oct 2023: The priority corridor from Sahibabad to Duhai was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20 October 2023.[1]

• Delhi–Alwar Regional Rapid Transit System
• Delhi–Panipat Regional Rapid Transit System