GHAZIABAD (Metro Rail News): The work to energize the electrical overhead equipment (OHE) for rapid train operation on the priority section of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor will be finished by mid-October and will clear the way for trial runs that are anticipated to begin in November of this year.
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has taken the RRTS project comprising 25 stations and three depots on which high-speed trains will transport passengers between the three cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut and 82-kilometer-long RRTS corridor by 2025. The project’s estimated cost is Rs 30,274 crore. In Ghaziabad, a 17-km priority section is being built and when it is operational in March 2023, it will be the nation’s first RRTS section.
The entire 17-km priority stretch in Ghaziabad, which runs from Sahibabad to Duhai and has five RRTS stations and one depot is being developed on an elevated corridor. Five receiver sub stations (RSS) which are being built at Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, Ghaziabad city, Muradnagar (Ghaziabad) and at Modipuram and Shatabdi Nagar in Meerut, will supply electricity to the entire 82-km RRTS corridor, according to NCRTC officials.
The high-speed ultra-modern RRTS trains have a design speed of 180 kilometers per hour (kmph) while the operational speed will be around 100kmph. The NCRTC has also planned a number of initiatives to reduce energy use and produce roughly 10 million units of electricity annually by the time the RRTS project is completely operational in 2025.
The rolling stock (RRTS trains) feature a built-in concept of “regenerative braking” that will cut power consumption while braking and send the power saved back to the grid, as stated by an official. The NCRTC is constructing all of its electricity sub-stations in compliance with the Indian Green Building Council’s (IGBC) requirements which include using LED lighting, air ventilation, sewage treatment facilities and green spaces.
“The installation of OHE is taken up at a fast pace and energising the OHE lines for running of trains are likely to be completed by the mid of October. It will help in conducting the trial runs of the RRTS trains. For energising the 17-km priority section in Ghaziabad, we have come up with a receiver substation (RSS) near river Hindon. It will receive electricity from the grid and supply power for the operation of the rapid trains, stations and depots,” said Puneet Vats, NCRTC chief public relations officer.
“By way of regenerative braking, we are expecting to save about 30% electricity during train operations. Further, in order to save electricity, we have planned the installation of solar rooftop panels on stations, depots and administrative buildings. With this, we will be generating about 11 megawatts (MW) of solar power on the entire 82-km corridor and this will help reduce consumption of regular electricity,” Vats added.
