The Indian Railways is fast moving towards modernization of its railway network, infusing new-gen high-speed and semi-high speed trains like Vande Bharat Express, along with redeveloping the Railway Stations across the country with Airport like design. While Indian Railways runs the one of the largest train networks in the world, it lacked Urban Transport System connecting major towns in the near vicinity, like many of the European Nations. To solve this problem, Indian Railways announced Vande Bharat Metro, which will be based on the Vande Bharat Express, but will run smaller distances of 100 km to connect two major towns within 10 km of each others. 


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Although the railways is working to introduce this new type of urban commuting soon, Delhi-NCR is ready to launch India's first Urban Rail Network called Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) on Delhi-Meerut route. The project is being executed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which finalized the 88-km long Delhi Meerut route to be the inaugural run of Rapid Rail in India.


The NCRTC is fast developing infrastruture along the route that will pass through cities like Ghaziabad. The antipicated date of launch of the complete project is 2025, but commuters can enjoy the ride in the modern Alstom-made trains from March 2023 itself. The 17-km Duhai-Sahibabad priority stretch of the country's first Delhi-Meerut RRTS train corridor is expected to get operationalised by late March this year, officials told PTI. The priority stretch has four stations - Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar and Duhai.


Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Speed


According to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), RRTS trains will have a design speed of 180 kmph and operational speed of 160 kmph. This makes the RRTS fastest operational metro in India, with 3 times more speed than Delhi Metro. 


Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Fare


Asked about the fare, an NCRTC official said it is yet to be decided. However, reports suggests the RRTS will charge Rs 2 per km, which means a Delhi-Meerut ticket will cost Rs 170 to passengers. 


Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Design


The modern RRTS trains will get 2x2 transverse cushioned seating, wide standing space, luggage racks, CCTV cameras, laptop/mobile charging facility, dynamic route maps, auto control ambient lighting system, WiFi facility, heating ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC), among other amenities.


Delhi-Meerut RRTS: Stations


One official told PTI that lakhs of passengers are expected to commute daily from RRTS stations. To facilitate their travel and ensure easy access to the station, the NCRTC is going to create a dedicated pick-up and drop-off zone at the stations away from the main carriageway.


In addition, there will be pedestrian-friendly paths, lifts, escalators, seating areas and other commuter-centric amenities that will facilitate universal access at the stations. The NCRTC is constructing the entry and exit points of the elevated stations on the RRTS corridor on both sides of busy roads such as the Link Road and the Delhi-Meerut Road.