Soon, reach Alwar from Delhi in 104 mins

Rail-based corridor to cut down travel time between the Capital and Rajasthan by half; to be completed in six years

Commuters from the Capital will soon be able to reach Alwar in just 104 minutes thanks to the Delhi-Rewari-Alwar Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) project, which is all set to take off. At present, the journey takes around four hours.

The project was discussed at the Ministry of Urban Development on Saturday, ahead of a detailed project report being submitted for approval. The stakeholders’ workshop was attended by municipal commissioners, officials from the Town and Country Planning departments from the governments of India, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan, besides consultants and representatives of the construction company.

19 stations covered

Outlining the features of the rail-based project, V.K.Singh, Managing Director of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), said that the 180.5-km project would cost an estimated ₹37,539 crore. The project, which is expected to be completed in about six years, will be funded by the Centre, State governments concerned and other funding agencies.

According to Mr. Singh, the project will include 19 stations with the first 56 km being underground and covering the stretch between ISBT Kashmere Gate in Delhi to Cyber City in Haryana.

The remaining stretch of 124.5 km will be elevated.

He added that the NCRTC was targeting approval by the Board in the next two months, and approval from the Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan governments in another three months to begin work within one year.

With a design speed of 180 km/h, an operating speed of 160 km/h and an average speed of 105 km/h, the journey between Delhi and Alwar could be completed in 104 minutes, said Mr. Singh.

Trains would be available on the corridor every five to 10 minutes, depending the time of the day, he added. With a six-car combination to begin with, each train is expected to carry 1,154 passengers.

Mr. Singh also said that there would be no land acquisition issues as the entire corridor is either underground or elevated.

Durga Shanker Mishra, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Urban Development, said that the RRTS was a comfortable, safe and faster way of travelling.

Boost economic activity

It will also trigger economic development and employment generation in the region, said Mr. Mishra, adding that the NCRTC should consider adding more stations to the corridor.

The NCRTC, a joint venture of the Governments of India, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan is planning to undertake three prioritised RRTS corridors — Delhi-Alwar, Delhi-Meerut and Delhi-Panipat.

Also, eight such corridors have been identified under the Integrated Transportation Plan, 2032, prepared by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).

Among the other RRTS corridors are Delhi-Baraut, Delhi-Hapur, Delhi-Khurja, Delhi-Palwal, and Delhi-Rohtak.