Delhi Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)

What’s in today’s article?

• What’s in today’s article?
• Why in news?
• Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)
• What is the RRTS project?
• How is the RRTS different from existing metro or railways systems?
• Namo Bharat trains

Why in news?

• PM Modi will inaugurate the first leg of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), India’s first mass rapid system dedicated to regional connectivity.
• Trains on the first section will eventually cut the journey time between Delhi and Meerut to less than an hour.

Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)

• About
  • With semi high-speed rail connectivity at its core, the RRTS is an integrated, mass transit network.
  • It aims to ensure balanced and sustainable urban development through better connectivity and access across the NCR.
• Origin
  • The idea of such a network lies in a study which the Indian Railways was commissioned to carry out in the year 1998-99.
  • The study identified the possibility of an RRTS network to connect various locations in the NCR through fast commuter trains.
  • The proposal was re-examined in the year 2006 with the extension of the Delhi Metro lines to some NCR towns such as Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad.
  • It was soon taken up by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) while developing its Functional Plan on Transport for NCR-2032.
  • NCRPB identified and recommended eight RRTS corridors to connect NCR towns with high speed rail-based commuter transit services.
• Objective
  • It seeks to unlock the entire potential of the NCR in various ways in addition to enhancing multi-modal connectivity at the existing transportation hubs.
  • One of the most significant aims of the project is to nudge commuters towards public transportation.
    • Hence, it will have a positive impact on relieving the congestion both on its road/highways as well as existing metro and railway networks.
  • The project aims to give a push to employment generation and the opening up of newer commercial hubs along the current contours of the NCR.
  • Shorter travel times are expected to increase the overall economic productivity of the region.
• Features
  • RRTS trains will travel significantly faster than metro trains.
  • These will operate at a speed of 160 km/hour but are designed to be able to run at speeds up to 180 km/hour.
  • The RRTS is modelled on systems such as the RER in Paris, Regional-Express trains in Germany and Austria as well as the SEPTA Regional Rail in the United States, among others.
• 

How is the RRTS different from existing metro or railways systems?

• When compared with metros, the RRTS network is faster.
• Compared with the Indian Railways, though the RRTS train will cover relatively smaller distances. It will do so at higher frequency and provide relatively more comfort than the average Railways coach.

Namo Bharat trains

• About
  • India’s first regional rapid train, between Delhi and Meerut, has been named “Namo Bharat”.
  • Today, PM is scheduled to:
    • inaugurate the priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor and
    • flag off the “RapidX train” connecting Sahibabad and Duhai Depot.
• Construction
  • The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has constructed the RRTS also known as Namo Bharat.
    • NCRTC is a joint venture company of the Central government and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
    • NCRTC, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, is mandated with implementing the RRTS project across the National Capital Region.

Q1) What is National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC)?

NCRTC is a joint venture company of the Central government and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. NCRTC, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, is mandated with implementing the RRTS project across the National Capital Region.

Q2) What is National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB)?

The National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) was created in 1985 to plan the development of the National Capital Region (NCR) in India.

Source: PM Modi to flag off RRTS: What is this mass transport system, how it can benefit NCR | PIB | Hindustan Times | Indian Express