High-­speed rail network’s first train to arrive soon

High-­speed rail network’s first train to arrive soon

Subject :Economy

Section :Infrastructure

Context:

Trial run on Delhi­-Ghaziabad-­Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor expected in late 2022 being built by National Capital Region Transport Corporation.

National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC)

• The NCRTC is a joint ven­ture of the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Ha­ryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• The NCRTC is mandated with implementing the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project across the National Capital Region (NCR), ensuring a balanced and sustainable urban development through better connectivity and access.
• The Union Cabinet approved the constitution of the NCRTC under the Companies Act, 1956, in July 2013 for designing, developing, implementing, financing, operating, and maintaining the RRTS in the NCR to provide comfortable and fast transit to NCR towns and to meet the high growth in transport demand.
• Out of the eight identified RRTS corridors, the following three were prioritized for implementation by the planning commission:
  • Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut
  • Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar
  • Delhi-Panipat

RRTS overview

• RRTS is a rail-based semi-high speed, high frequency, high capacity, comfortable, air-conditioned, reliable, and safe commuter service connecting regional nodes.
• Design speed – 180 km/h, Operational speed – 160 km/h, Average speed of 100 km/h – Delhi to Meerut in less than 55 minutes (three times the speed of Metro)
• Train every ~5–10 minutes; serving traffic nodes at every 5–10 km
• ETCS-2 Signaling System along with centralized operations control will ensure that train services will not be affected, even during extreme weather conditions.
• RRTS is different from conventional railway as it will provide reliable, high frequency, point-to-point regional travel at high speed along a dedicated pathway.
• RRTS is different from Metro as it caters to passengers looking to travel relatively longer distances with fewer stops and at a higher speed.
• Metro rail projects generally serve the need of intra-city movement and operate within metropolitan cities like Delhi, Chennai, or Kochi; RRTS will connect suburban and urban centres in the NCR and will run from one city centre to another, thus providing a seamless transit network to the entire region.
• Aerodynamic trains with airline-like transverse seating arrangements.

Unique aspects/Benefits of RRTS

• Interoperability
  • To provide seamless movement to commuters, the three RRTS corridors of phase 1, i.e., Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut; Delhi – Panipat; and Delhi – Gurugram – SNB – Alwar will be integrated at Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan and remain interoperable.
  • Trains will move from one corridor to another, facilitating commuter travel from one corridor station to another without train changes, thus motivating them to leave their private vehicles and switch to the RRTS.
• Multimodal integration
  • RRTS stations will be integrated with various modes of public transport systems like airports, Indian Railway stations, inter-state bus terminals, and Delhi Metro stations, wherever possible. This integration will facilitate seamless movement of commuters from one mode of public transport to another and encourage the use of public transport.
• Option of business class
  • Each RRTS train will have a separate business coach. This will encourage business class commuters to switch to public transport for intercity travel.
• Comfortable travel
  • The air-conditioned RRTS coaches will have transverse seating arrangement with an overhead space for luggage, a wi-fi connection, among other modern amenities.
• Women’s coach
  • Each RRTS train will have a separate coach for women travelers, just like the Delhi Metro.
• Universal accessibility
  • The entire infrastructure of the RRTS, including stations and trains, will be designed with universal accessibility in mind.
• Enhanced economic activities
  • With reduced travel times, the overall productivity of the region would increase, leading to improved overall economic activity and balanced economic development.
• Lower emissions
  • With a reduced number of private vehicles and a shift towards a clean transportation system like the RRTS, fuel consumption is expected to go down.
  • Low fuel consumption means lower emissions and less pollution.
• Reduced energy use
  • A shift towards public transportation will reduce energy use by the transport sector in the National Capital Region.
  • This would not only lead to reduced fuel consumption in the region, but also the country’s import dependence on foreign oil.
• Technology
  • The NCRTC is implementing a state-of-the-art rail-based rapid transit system in the NCR with a design speed of 180 km/h.
  • Such a speed will necessarily require grade-separated tracks and the latest signaling and control systems, to ensure high throughput and safe operation.
  • The rolling stock will be air-conditioned and have the capability of high acceleration and deceleration in a very short span.
  • Traction power will be through a uniquely designed 25 kV flexible overhead catenary traction system for elevated stations and a rigid overhead catenary system for tunnels.