Delhi-Meerut RAPIDX: Tunnelling Work For India's First RRTS Corridor Nears Completion

The tunnelling work for the 82-km-long Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project is nearly finished and is expected to conclude in the coming days.

The rail-based system coming up in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) is the country's first RRTS and has been named as RapidX. Primarily elevated for 70 km, the RapidX corridor also includes a 12 km underground section.

This includes a 5.5 km underground stretch from New Ashok Nagar in Delhi to Sahibabad in Ghaziabad, with a station at Anand Vihar in Delhi and six kilometre in Meerut, with stations at Bhainsali, Meerut (central), and Begum Pul.

While the tunnelling work is completed in Meerut, only 2 per cent of the work remains for Anand Vihar-Vaishali stretch.

“The underground civil construction of tunnelling work for the RRTS project is likely to conclude within a week. The pending work solely lies in the Anand Vihar to Vaishali section. As a result, the tunnelling progress stands at approximately 98 per cent", said Puneet Vats, chief PRO of the National Capital Region Transport Corporations (NCRTC) which is implementing the project.

The NCRTC will proceed with track laying, signal installation, and overhead equipment setup in the underground section, once the entire tunnelling exercise is complete.

Every underground tunnel built for the RRTS project spans 6.5 metre in width, exceeding the standard 5.8-metre width of conventional metro systems. According to NCRTC, the broader tunnel design has been implemented to accommodate the larger RapidX trains, which are designed to operate at a speed of 180 kmph.

Further, to enhance maintenance accessibility and passenger safety in case of emergencies, cross-passages have been strategically integrated every 250 metre within these tunnels, as per official statements.

Commissioning By 2025

The Rs 30,274 crore RRTS corridor from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh is targeted for opening by March 2025. The route encompasses 25 stations, with three in Delhi, eight in Ghaziabad, and the remaining in Meerut.

Before that, the NCRTC will operationalise the priority section of 17 km in Ghaziabad, extending from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot.

The priority corridor between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot has five stations — Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai Depot. The Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) has already approved the start of commercial operation of RapidX on the Priority Section and the formal inauguration is expected soon.