RapidX train fares out: Travel on 17km priority section for as little as ₹50
The RapidX trains are all set to commence passenger operations from October 21, a day after its scheduled inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Passengers travelling by RapidX trains will have to spend ₹20-50 for a standard coach seat on the 17km priority section from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot in Ghaziabad, while those opting for the premium coach will have to shell out ₹40-100 per seat for the same distance, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) said on Wednesday.
The RapidX trains are all set to commence passenger operations from October 21, a day after its scheduled inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The six-coach RapidX trains will have one premium class coach while the remaining five coaches will be standard.
The NCRTC, the agency executing the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project, released the fare for the 17km priority section in Ghaziabad. This will be country’s first RRTS stretch to commence passenger operations on a 17km section comprising stations of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot.
“The fares have been defined from station to station and the present fare charges will be applicable for travelling between five stations of the priority section,” said Puneet Vats, chief public relations officer, NCRTC.
According to the rolled out fares, a passenger on a standard class coach will have to pay ₹50 for travelling from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot, while a traveller on the premium coach will have to pay ₹100 for the same distance.
Most of the commuters who travel between Ghaziabad and Sahibabad will have to shell out ₹30 up to the Sahibabad RRTS station for travelling in standard class coach and ₹60 for premium class travel.
According to the fare chart, the per kilometre cost of travelling on the full 17km priority section is ₹2.94km in a standard coach and ₹5.88 on a premium coach.
According to the 2009 project report on the RRTS project, the initial fare was expected to be ₹2 per kilometre for the entire 82km network.This figure was expected to climb further owing to inflation and price hike.
Normally, a hired auto in Ghaziabad may charge anything from ₹100-150 for the 17km distance between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot. The auto may charge between ₹75-90 to travel from Ghaziabad to Sahibabad.The option of Metro is not available between the two points.
But Delhi Metro sources said ₹10 and ₹60 are the minimum and maximum fares for travelling on the Metro network.
Explaining the rationale for the RapidX fares, NCRTC officials said these were decided after a comprehensive study by IIM-Ahmedabad.
“All factors were analysed before finalising the fare. These factors included the consideration of cost, viability, fare in other similar transport mediums across the globe and also the factor of realisation of cost. RapidX is altogether a different system from Metro trains and the two cannot be compared,” said a spokesperson from NCRTC.
The NCRTC officials said children below 90cm height will be allowed to travel free while various ticketing options have been put in place for passengers.
These options include digital QR code based tickets phone app RAPIDX Connect, national common mobility card (NCMC), ticket vending machines (TVMs) and paper QR code-based journey ticket.
The officials said they have provided four TVMs each at Sahibabad and Ghaziabad stations while two each have been provided at Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot stations.
The officials said that luggage of dimensions 80cm x 50cm x 30cm and up to a maximum weight of 25kg per passenger will be allowed.
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