Trail run of Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail on main line will start soon: NCRTC

By Nishant Ketu
New Delhi [India], November 11 : The construction of the Delhi Meerut Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) is progressing at full pace. People will get a chance to travel in India's first rapid rail very soon, assured the MD of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), Vinay Kumar Singh, at the Anand Vihar RRTS project construction site.
During an interaction with ANI, the MD said, "we are working at full pace to complete this project on time". He further said that due to the COVID pandemic, they faced many challenges. But now, tough times have passed, and they are looking forward to achieving further targets on time.
Informing about the plans, he said that work on the trail run of two sets of trains is already going-on in the depot. "We are planning to start the mainline trail within two or three weeks", said Vinay Kumar Singh.
After a successful trial and getting NOC from a different department, 17 kilometers of the priority section of RRTS will open for commuters.
Speaking about the construction of Anand Vihar RRTS Station, Singh said that construction of this station, 'one of the largest stations on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor', is progressing rapidly. Construction of the station is going on in a top-down method, i.e. the construction is done first at the ground level, and later, it progresses to the underground level.
Four Sudarshan (Tunnel Boring Machines) are engaged in constructing tunnels for the corridor near the station. Two of these tunnels are being built from Anand Vihar towards New Ashok Nagar for 3 Km and from Anand Vihar towards Sahibabad for 2 km.
Notably, the location of Anand Vihar RRTS station is strategically designed to facilitate multi-modal integration among the six modes of public transport present here. This integration includes the Swami Vivekananda (Anand Vihar) Inter-State Bus Stand located at a distance of 150 meters, the City Bus Stand located at a distance of 150 meters, the Bus Stand of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) located at Kaushambi at a distance of 100 meters, the two Metro corridors, the Pink and Blue Lines at a distance of 50 meters and the Anand Vihar Railway Station located at a distance of 200 meters from the Anand Vihar RRTS Station.
Regarding the challenges in the construction, MD, NCTRC said that Multi-modal integration is the core principle of the RRTS project. RRTS stations are all strategically designed and built as close as possible to the existing modes of public transport to connect them.
To make the integration of several models possible, NCRTC Team has to deal with the complexities of construction and civil engineering.
The Anand Vihar RRTS station is an excellent example of this. This underground station is being constructed in such a way, that it can be made accessible by all the existing modes of public transport.
In the preliminary detailed project report, the station was planned to be constructed at about 8 meters below the concourse level and 16 meters below the rail level. However, in doing so, the existing Metro infrastructure was coming in the way of the RRTS corridor. Also, due to the greater depth of the station, subways and additional lifts, stairs and escalators had to be built to connect it with other transport modes.
He further said that after re-evaluating the depth, Anand Vihar RRTS station was reduced to 8 m, i.e. shifted from -16 m to -8 m and the concourse level was lowered to ground level. He further said that making the change possible in station designs, was a complex and challenging task.
To make the construction of the proposed corridor possible after raising the level of the station is a very complex task from a civil engineering point of view but, NCRTC is making it possible using new technologies, strategic planning, and innovative methods.
The construction of tunnels is also very complicated. During the process of tunnel construction, tunnel rings are made underground with the help of tunnel segments by Sudarshan (TBM).
Explaining the process, he said that seven tunnel segments are used to form a tunnel ring. The Tunnel Segments are being manufactured at NCRTC's Casting Yard with assured quality control.
Due to the large rolling stock and a high design speed of 180 mph, the width of RRTS tunnels is being constructed as 6.5 m in diameter, compared to the metro systems.
"This is for the first time that a tunnel of such a large size is being built in the country", said Vinay Kumar Singh.
Also, there is a provision for two parallel tunnels for the movement of trains in the underground sections of RRTS. Besides this, various security measures have also been put in place to ensure the safety of the passengers.
Speaking about the security measures, Singh informed that a cross-passage would be provided, every 250 metres, for the safety of the passengers in case of any emergency.
The RRTS tunnel will also have ventilation ducts to ensure air movement and a 60 cm-90 cm wide side walkway to assist in maintenance activities and emergencies.
For tunnel construction, about 90 meters long Sudarshan (TBM) has been put to work. TBM Sudarshan consists of Cutter Head, Front Shield, Middle Shield, Tail Shield, Erector, Screw Conveyor, and many other essential parts.
It is worth mentioning that the inception of RRTS could be found in the environmental crisis of the National Capital Region.
Increasing pollution levels in National Capital Region (NCR) have been a cause of concern for the past few years, with the situation becoming much more severe with time.
Notably, RRTS is a long-term strategic intervention by the Government of India and four state governments, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, for decongestion of the National Capital and to reduce vehicular congestion and air pollution and enable the balanced and sustainable development of the region.
Assuring about the project, Singh said, "NCRTC is ensuring the safe and timely completion of work using state-of-the-art technologies while minimizing inconvenience to road users, local passers-by, business owners and residents of the entire segment".