The look of what India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train to be deployed on the 82-km long Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor was unveiled on September 25.
The prototype is scheduled to roll off the production line in 2022 and will be put to public use after extensive trials, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) officials said.
These aerodynamic trains will have a speed of 180 kmph and will be manufactured at the Bombardier plant in Savli, Gujarat.
National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is a joint venture company of the Centre and states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, has been mandated to implement the RRTS project across the National Capital Region (NCR).
NCRTC will procure 30 train sets of six cars each for operating regional rail services on the entire corridor and 10 train sets of three cars each for operating local transit services in Meerut. The entire rolling stock for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor will be manufactured at Bombardier’s Savli plant in Gujarat, officials said.
The RRTS trains will also have business class (one coach per train) with spacious, comfortable and reclining seats which will be accessible through a special lounge at the platform-level. A food automatic vending machine will be installed in the business coach.
One coach in every train will be reserved for women passengers as well.
“Infrastructure is one of the five pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat envisioned by our Prime Minister and it is a matter of great pride that these high-speed, high-frequency commuter trains for RRTS are entirely being manufactured under the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy,” said Durga Shanker Mishra, secretary, MoHUA.
He said the environment friendly, energy-efficient trains will improve the quality of life in and around the NCR by accelerating economic growth, creating economic opportunities and at the same time reduce air pollution, carbon footprint, congestion, and accidents.
Vinay Kumar Singh, managing director, NCRTC, all the members of Board of Directors of NCRTC and other senior officials of the MoHUA, NCRTC and Bombardier India were also present at the event.
Bombardier Transportation, which won the rolling stock contract for the Delhi-Meerut RRTS will start delivering the coaches from April 2022 onwards, Singh said.
“I am confident that the RRTS will prove to be transport backbone for the people of NCR and will define a new benchmark in the transport sector enabling the overall growth of the region,” he added.
The global mobility solutions giant had won a Rs 2,500-crore contract to supply 40 train sets for the corridor in May.
The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is one of the three prioritised RRTS corridor being implemented in phase-1. The corridor will bring down the travel time between Delhi to Meerut to less than an hour from 3-4 hours by road at present.
The Delhi-Meerut project will be made operational in phases, with the 17-km Sahibabad to Duhai section to be completed in March 2023. The entire 82-km corridor will be open for public by 2025.
The corridor is being built at a cost of Rs 30,274 crore. Of this, 20 percent is borne by the Centre, 3.22 percent by Delhi, and 16.78 percent by Uttar Pradesh. The rest 60 percent would be raised through multilateral funding.
The other two Phase-I RRTS corridors are Delhi-Gurugram-SNB and Delhi-Panipat. Pre-construction activities are in full swing for Delhi-Gurugram-SNB corridor and its DPR is under active consideration of the Government of India for sanction. The DPR of the Delhi to Panipat RRTS corridor is also under active consideration of the respective state governments for approval.
Here’s a look at its passenger centric features
Business Class will have four doors, two on each side for ease of access and exit. The RRTS trains will have transverse 2x2 seating with adequate legroom, optimized aisle width with grab handles and grab poles for standing passengers, overhead luggage rack, mobile and laptop charging sockets and on board Wi-Fi among other commuter-centric features.
New Delhi’s iconic Lotus Temple is an epitome of sustainability as its design allows flow of natural sources of light and air circulation. On similar lines, RRTS rolling stock will have lighting and temperature control systems to enhance the passenger experience with less energy consumption.
It will have double glazed, tempered large safety glass windows that offer passengers a panoramic view outside.
It will be equipped with a public announcement and display system, dynamic route map display, infotainment display, along with emergency communication facilities. The train is designed for modern visual and audio announcements which orient passengers with information about next stop, final destination.
There will be a dedicated wheelchair space located near to the train doorway for easy access.
It comes with an innovative Train Control Monitoring System (TCMS) technology, as well as its predictive and condition-based monitoring features, which will enhance the fleet’s performance by providing extensive train-to-ground diagnostics.
Trains would run under Automatic Train Operation (ATO) to provide smooth ride with precise stopping accuracy and will also save energy.
These modern trains will have push buttons for selective opening of doors on need basis. This eliminates the requirement of opening all doors at every station, thus leading to energy saving.
Given the high-speed train operations, all RRTS stations will have Platform Screen Doors (PSDs) for safety of the passengers. The train doors will be integrated with PSDs.
