The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a USD 1 billion loan for the construction of Delhi-Meerut regional transit system (RRTS) consisting of the construction of an 82 km rail network.
The financing for the project will be implemented in four tranches between August 2020 and May 2025. USD 3.94 billion is the total value of the project, of which the Indian Government will provide USD 1.89 billion while USD 1 billion will be come from co-financing resources. A USD 3 million grant from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction will support various activities, including provision of visual, hearing and mobility aids, such as wheelchairs for differently abled persons.
The ADB loan will support the construction of the railway tracks, stations, maintenance facilities and traction and power supply. The RRTS will use advanced, high technology signaling systems based on latest standards and will have multimodal hubs to ensure smooth interchange with other transport modes.
The rapid transit system will have a total length of 82.15 km of which 68 km will be elevated and 14 km will be underground. 22 stations will serve the new rail network. The system, which will cross Ghaziabad, a city in Uttar Pradesh and part of the National Capital Region of Delhi, will start in Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Modipuram in Meerut. In Ghaziabad, the plans include the construction of 7 stations.
The design of the stations will feature and consider the needs of the elderly, women, children, and passengers with reduced mobility.
The Delhi-Meerut regional transit system was approved in February 2019 and is the first of three priority rail corridors in the country’s integrated transport network under the National Capital Region (NCR) Plan 2021.
The new rail system will offer commuter transport services in the NCR, a planning region centered upon the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
The RRTS aims to streamline the urban transport system and to make a real modal shift towards sustainable transport by providing secure, reliable, fast and comfortable transport services.
In May, Bombardier was awarded a EUR 314 million contract to deliver 40 trains which will operate the new railway network.
In April 2020, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation awarded Larsen & Toubro two contracts for the construction of the first sections of the RRTS which will allow trains to run at speeds of 160 km/h providing a 1 hour-travel time across the system.
The project is expected to be completed in 2025.
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