UP chief secretary inspects 17km RRTS priority section in Ghaziabad

The Uttar Pradesh chief secretary on Friday carried out a detailed inspection of Ghaziabad’s 17km priority section of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project ahead of its likely opening next month, officials aware of the matter said.

During the three-hour long inspection, officials said that chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra visited the Duhai depot where he took stock of the control room, trains, depots, passenger facilities at stations and platforms, besides taking a ride in one of the trains, which are undergoing trial runs.

The work for the trial runs on the priority section is almost done and stations have also taken shape, officials of NCR transport corporation (NCRTC) said.

The priority section — part of the 82km RRTS project — will be the country’s first such stretch to open; the project involves operation of high-speed state-of-the-art trains to connect three cities of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut. The 17km section in Ghaziabad has five stations — Sahibabad, Ghaziabad city, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot.

“The UP chief secretary carried out detailed inspections for three hours and expressed satisfaction about the ongoing progress of work. The work for the priority section is almost in final stages and the process for inspection of the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) is on. The work on the stations is also almost done,” said Puneet Vats, chief public relations officer, NCRTC. If the current pace of work is maintained, the priority section will likely be thrown open to public in April, at least two months before the scheduled completion date, officials said.

Recently, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on March 25 also said that “...the work for RRTS project is almost complete and it is likely that the Prime Minister will dedicate the project to nation next month.” According to officials aware of the matter, the priority section is likely to become operational before the announcement of upcoming local body elections in the state.

Foundation of the ₹30 crore RRTS project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ghaziabad on March 8, 2019. The project includes state-of-the-art aerodynamic RRTS trains manufactured under the Make in India initiative at a manufacturing facility in Savli, Gujarat. The 82km-long corridor, which will have 25 stations, is expected to get an average 800,000 passengers daily.