The stalemate over fate of the Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) — connecting the Capital with NCR — continues as the Delhi Government has been insisting on change of route alignment.
While the Ministry of Urban Development feels origin points should be at Inter-State Bus Terminals – Kashmere Gate, Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan — the Government wants RRTS to terminate at the border of the city, from where Metro connectivity is available. However, the Ministry has raised objections on the locations.
According to plan, the feasibility study for RRTS connecting NCR towns to Delhi with high-speed train service should be finished by June-end, but the project plan might take time. The routes planned are Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat, Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut and Delhi-Gurgaon-Rewari-Alwar.
In a letter, which was sent to the Delhi Transport Department recently, the Ministry of Urban Development stated that the RRTS should be constructed inside the city as per the plan of the NCR Planning Board, so passengers travelling in trains can connect to nearby ISBTs.
The Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat will be close to Kashmere Gate ISBT, while the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut will be in vicinity to Sarai Kale Khan ISBT and the Delhi-Gurgaon-Alwar line will be close Kashmere Gate. The Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat will cover 111 km, while the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut will cover 90 km and Delhi-Gurgaon-Rewari-Alwar will cover 180 km.
In its reply, Delhi Transport Commissioner Puneet Goyal asked the Ministry to relax some criterion so that feasibility study of RRTS could be conducted. Goyal said, "We are awaiting response from the Ministry of Urban Development. If they give us a nod then we will finalise our feasibility study."