NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Two stations at the core of the interstate, high-speed Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) rail project in the Capital — Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan — are nearing completion, say officials.
The RRTS is an 82-km corridor connecting Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Meerut, of which 12 km is subterranean and 70 km is elevated. Its goal is to cut the travel time between Delhi and Meerut in half to between 40 and 55 minutes. It is anticipated to be completely operational by 2025.
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), executed the project which is a joint venture between the Central and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
Sharing details about the progress of the work at Anand Vihar station, a senior NCRTC official said work on its concourse has been completed and the construction of the platform level is nearing completion. The official added that the track-laying work will begin at this station over the coming days, with work at the concourse level having been completed.
The official added that work on 38 of the 39 piers of Sarai Kale Khan station, which will form the backbone of the corridor in the National Capital Region (NCR), has been completed. The NCRTC official also said that the construction of platforms — of which it has six with four tracks — is going to commence.
Phase I of the RRTS project will connect the elevated Sarai Kale Khan station to the Delhi-Panipat and Delhi-Alwar corridors, enabling travelers to travel between stations along several corridors.
The station will have 14 lifts, 18 escalators, and six entry and exit gates, and it will be 215 metres long, 50 metres wide, and 15 metres high. The ISBT, the Hazrat Nizamuddin metro station, and the Ring Road will all have one entrance.
Delhi has a total of 14 km of the corridor of which 9.22 km is elevated and 4.28 km which are underground. Anand Vihar is the only underground station, while the other two stations Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar are elevated.
