| Ghaziabad–Jewar Regional Rapid Transit System | |
| Color: | 274778 |
| Other Name: | Ghaziabad–Jewar Airport RRTS Ghaziabad–Noida–Jewar RRTS |
| Type: | Semi-high speed rail Regional transit |
| Locale: | National Capital Region (NCR) |
| Stations: | 12 |
| Routes: | 1 |
| Daily Ridership: | 326,000 (FY 2030-31) 757,000 (FY 2054-55) (projected)[1] |
| Open: | (phase–I)[2] |
| Yearcompleted: | (full completion)[3] |
| Owner: | National Capital Region Transport Corporation |
| Character: | Elevated, at-grade and underground |
| Linelength: | 72.44km (45.01miles) |
| Gauge: | [4] |
| Electrification: | overhead catenary |
| Speed: | 84km/h (average) 114abbr=onNaNabbr=on (maximum) |
| Signalling: | ETCS L2/L3 over LTE[5] |
| Map State: | collapsed |
The Ghaziabad–Jewar Regional Rapid Transit System (Ghaziabad–Jewar RRTS) is a proposed semi high-speed rail and regional transit corridor that will connect the National Capital Region cities of Ghaziabad and Noida with Noida International Airport at Jewar. It is the fourth of the four rapid rail corridors planned under the first phase of the RapidX project managed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC). It will be built to allow a maximum speed of, and the distance between Ghaziabad, Noida and the airport will be covered in less than 40–50 minutes. The project is estimated to cost approximately ₹20,640 crore (US$2.5 billion). It will originate from Ghaziabad, run through Noida, Greater Noida, YEIDA City and end at the Noida International Airport at Jewar. It will have 12 stations and two depots on both the northern and southern ends of the corridor.[2] [6]
The project comprises two sections to distinguish between the urban and the rural divisions. The first will be from Ghaziabad to Kasna or Ecotech VI of Greater Noida, covering by running in tandem with Noida Metro's extension between Char Murti Chowk and Knowledge Park-IV, while concurrently integrating with Delhi Metro's Red Line at Ghaziabad.
The second will be from Kasna or Ecotech VI to Noida International Airport at Jewar by passing through the under-development YEIDA City, covering, where it will be integrated with the proposed light rail line, which will serve the upcoming Noida Film City. The RRTS project was given an in-principle approval by the Government of Uttar Pradesh in December 2023, and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority issued work order to the owner of the four RRTS corridors, NCRTC, to prepare the detailed project report of the project in January 2024. The NCRTC submitted the DPR within three months to YEIDA and the Government of Uttar Pradesh in April 2024. The corridor's first phase is expected to be completed by 2027, while the rest will be finished by 2030.[7] [8]
In response to the growing challenges of population growth, traffic congestion, pollution, and road safety in the National Capital Region, the Planning Commission formed a task force in 2005, chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development. The goal was to develop a multi-modal regional transit system to improve connectivity in the region. This initiative became part of the Integrated Transport Plan for NCR 2032, with a particular focus on establishing a Regional Rapid Transit System to link regional centers.
In 2013, the Governments of India and Delhi moved forward with plans to create a regional railway system that would directly connect Delhi with neighboring cities and areas in the NCR and beyond. This led to the establishment of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation in July 2013, a joint venture between the Governments of India and the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. The NCRTC was tasked with building, owning, and operating the RRTS to reduce reliance on road transport and improve regional connectivity. Within Delhi, the RRTS will primarily operate underground and integrate with the Delhi Metro, offering commuters a faster transit option and improved last-mile connectivity. This system draws inspiration from successful regional transit networks like London's Crossrail, Paris' RER and Munich's S-Bahn, aiming to provide a modern and efficient transit solution for the NCR.
Initially, eight corridors spanning at least 1,000 km (620 mi) across the NCR were proposed for implementation. This number has since increased to nine, with four corridors prioritized for development in the coming years: Delhi–Meerut, Delhi–Alwar, Delhi–Panipat, and Ghaziabad–Jewar. The Delhi–Meerut corridor was selected as the first to be implemented due to the high volume of daily travelers and significant traffic between the two cities. As a result, the central and state governments, along with the NCRTC, conducted feasibility studies and approved its construction.
The Ghaziabad–Jewar corridor is the most recent addition, announced by the Government of Uttar Pradesh in December 2023. This corridor aims to establish direct and seamless connectivity to the under-construction YEIDA City and the Noida International Airport in Jewar.
There have been plans to link the under-construction Noida International Airport in Jewar with Delhi and the rest of the National Capital Region (NCR) through a direct metro line since May 2019, when the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) showcased their plans with seven options, including either to make Greater Noida the origin of the line as a second line of Noida Metro, or extending the Delhi Metro's Violet Line till the airport from its terminating point at Faridabad.[9] [10] In June 2023, an RRTS corridor plan was presented by the DMRC to link the airport with Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, the current primary airport of the NCR, as an 'Airport Express Corridor'.[11] [12] However, although the option of extending the Violet Line continues to be the most feasible option to connect southern Delhi, Gurugram and Faridabad with the airport, the plan for the line from Greater Noida to the airport as a second line of Noida Metro was shelved in October 2023, when V. K. Singh, a former eminent General of the Indian Army and now a politician under the Government of Uttar Pradesh, introduced the proposal of creating an RRTS corridor from Ghaziabad to the airport.[13]
In response to this, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, expressed interest to the owner of the four Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors, NCRTC on creating a corridor from Delhi's Sarai Kale Khan station, the terminal station of the three corridors to Meerut, Panipat and Alwar, to the under-construction Noida International Airport at Jewar, in order to provide a direct link to the new airport from Delhi and the rest of the National Capital Region (NCR).[14] Nonetheless, due to lack of space and limited feasibility, the plan was changed to make the corridor start from Ghaziabad station on the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System, which has been built with four platforms to serve two corridors, and pass through Noida, Greater Noida and take course on the Yamuna Expressway before terminating at Jewar Airport.[15]
In December 2023, the Government of Uttar Pradesh approved the plan for, and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) directed the NCRTC to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and the feasibility study of the project in January 2024, and began the geotechnical survey for preparing the DPR in the same month in Greater Noida.[16] [17] The NCRTC submitted the DPR and the feasibility study in three months to the YEIDA and the Government of Uttar Pradesh in April 2024, and is currently waiting for a final approval from the Governments of India and Uttar Pradesh.[18] In August 2024, the NCRTC submitted a revised DPR to the Government of Uttar Pradesh for allowing final execution of the project. The corridor's first phase is slated to be completed by 2027, and entirely by 2030.
In January 2024, the NCRTC was directed by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority to carry out the preparatory works for construction and preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the corridor. Therefore, the NCRTC undertook the geotechnical survey of the corridor's alignment by awarding the work to Cengrs Geotechnica, a Noida-based firm, and then started to prepare the DPR in the same month. It submitted the DPR to the Government of Uttar Pradesh and YEIDA in April 2024. As of May 2024, it is awaiting final approval from the Government of India, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and YEIDA before construction can commence.[17] [18]
In March 2024, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) finalised and approved the project's funding of about, of which 50% will be funded by the Government of India, 30% by the YEIDA and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) and 20% by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The funding was done under the interim national budget of financial year 2024-25.[19]
The entire length of has been divided into two sections to distinguish between the urban and rural divisions and traffic in the areas, according to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), which states that the first section is projected to witness more passengers, as this route is surrounded by densely populated areas of Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida, as compared to the second section that is currently surrounded by rural areas as part of the upcoming YEIDA City. The corridor will be integrated with Delhi Metro and Noida Metro, with which it will run and operate the metro on a single corridor, similar to the Meerut Metro being built on a single corridor of the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System. The entire route will have a total of 22 stations-12 for the RRTS and 10 for the Noida Metro and a proposed light rail project to serve Noida Film City. It will be designed for a maximum speed of, with an operating speed of . The average speed will be .[20] [2] [1]
The first section covering will be entirely elevated, starting from Ghaziabad station on the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System to Kasna or Ecotech VI in Greater Noida, with seven RRTS stations and 11 Noida Metro stations, with a provision to add three more RRTS stations in the future, to be built at an estimated cost of about . It will traverse along the Vishvakarma road in Siddharth Vihar and Pratap Vihar in Ghaziabad, Taj highway, Char Murti Chowk, Greater Noida Link road at Knowledge Park-V, and then will turn towards Surajpur-Kasna road, before passing through Pari Chowk, which ends at Ecotech VI in Kasna. The first section will integrate as one corridor with the proposed Noida Metro's extension between Char Murti Chowk and Knowledge Park-IV. It will also integrate with Delhi Metro's Red Line at Ghaziabad, the Aqua Line of Noida Metro at Char Murti Chowk and Alpha I station of Aqua Line near Pari Chowk.[7]
The second section will cover will also be elevated, starting from Kasna or Ecotech VI to Noida International Airport at Jewar, with four RRTS stations and one metro station, to be built at a cost of about, with a provision to add ten more metro stations in the future. Its alignment will pass along the Yamuna Expressway through the towns and villages of Dankaur, Dhanauri, Kanarsi, Bhatta, Parsaul, Rabupura, Dayanatpur and Kishorpur before reaching Noida International Airport, which will be built underground. It will be integrated as one corridor with the proposed light rail corridor, aimed to connect the under-construction airport with Sector 21, where the Noida Film City is being developed.[7] [1]
The RRTS corridor will begin from Ghaziabad, through which the existing Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System operates with a stop, pass through Noida and Greater Noida by running along with the Noida Metro, and take its course from the Yamuna Expressway along the YEIDA City by running simultaneously with the proposed -long light rail corridor linking Noida Film City, before ending at Noida International Airport in Jewar. The corridor will have a total of 12 stations, with 11 intermediate stations as metro and light rail stations, where the RRTS will not have any stops. The RRTS will have a provision of adding an additional ten metro stations and one RRTS station to specially cater to the traffic of the upcoming YEIDA City in the coming years. It will have two depots on its northern and southern sides, whose locations are yet to be finalised. The designs of the stations are also yet to be done.[20] [2] [7]
| No. | Station Code | Station Name | Integration | Station Layout | Platform Level Type | Status | Opening | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Hindi | |||||||
| 1 | Ghaziabad | गाज़ियाबाद | Elevated | Island | 2027 | |||
| 2 | Ghaziabad South | गाज़ियाबाद दक्षिण | None | Elevated | Side | rowspan="11" | ||
| 3 | Greater Noida West-Sector IV | ग्रेटर नोएडा वेस्ट-सेक्टर IV | Elevated | Island | ||||
| 4 | Greater Noida West-Sector II | ग्रेटर नोएडा वेस्ट-सेक्टर II | Elevated | Island | ||||
| 5 | Knowledge Park V | नौलेज पार्क V | Elevated | Island | ||||
| 6 | Surajpur | सूरजपुर | Elevated | Island | ||||
| 7 | Pari Chowk | परी चौक | Elevated | Island | ||||
| 8 | Ecotech VI | इकोटेक VI | None | Elevated | Side | |||
| 9 | Dankaur | दनकौर | None | Elevated | Side | 2030 | ||
| 10 | YEIDA North-Sector 18 | येइडा उत्तर-सेक्टर 18 | Noida Film City Light Rail (Proposed) | Elevated | Island | |||
| 11 | YEIDA Central-Sector 21 | येइडा सेन्ट्रल-सेक्टर 21 | Noida Film City Light Rail (Proposed) | Elevated | Island | |||
| 12 | Jewar Airport | जेवर एयरपोर्ट | Noida Film City Light Rail (Proposed) | Underground | Island | |||
All stations and trains of the RRTS will have similar facilities to that of an airport, as in case with the existing Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System. They will have several facilities to fulfil the requirements of travellers and on-board passengers to ensure smooth and hassle-free experience, like booking counters, ticket and food vending machines, on-board catering and washrooms, check-in kiosks, baggage checking counters, CCTVs, platform screen doors, washrooms, retiring rooms, restaurants, retail stores, free Wi-Fi connectivity, child care facilities, emergency and medical facilities, facilities for physically challenged passengers like wheelchairs, escalators, elevators and connecting facilities to other existing transport modes like Delhi Metro stations in the Ghaziabad section, inter-state bus terminals of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation at Noida and Greater Noida, Noida Metro stations, Indian Railways stations, the proposed light rail stations in the YEIDA City section, cabs, auto-rickshaw stands, parking spaces, etc. All services will be provided to passengers on board the trains and travellers in the stations by RapidX.[21]
On 1 May 2020, Bombardier Transportation, a French railroad manufacturing firm, [26] emerged as the lowest bidder among a group of three bidders to supply and maintain 210 coaches for a 15-year period, with a price bid of . The 210 coaches include 180 coaches consisting of 30 six-car trains for the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System, and 30 coaches consisting of 10 three-car trains for the Meerut Metro.[27] [28]
In September 2020, the NCRTC released the design of the RRTS train, which is inspired by the Lotus Temple. Designed in Hyderabad, the trains have a design speed of and an operational speed of, making them the fastest rapid transit trains in India. Each fully air-conditioned, six-car trainset, which could be extended to eight coaches based on demand, consists of one premium coach and one coach reserved for women, and is be able to carry 1,750 passengers.[29] It is compatible with a host of train protection systems like automatic train protection (ATP) and automatic train control (ATC) systems, and also has features like regenerative braking.
The trains are the first-ever rapid transit trains in India to have an aerodynamic and sleek design and ergonomically designed seats. They have several facilities and amenities to cater the needs of the passengers, such as on-board catering, ticket scanners, food vending machines, information display systems, hand rests on the sides of the seats, adequate walking space, window blinders, charging points, fire alarms, washrooms, CCTVs, separate seats for and wheelchairs for physically challenged passengers. The trains were named as Namo Bharat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the inauguration of the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2023.[30] [21]
The entire rolling stock is being manufactured in India at Alstom's plant in Savli, Gujarat,[31] and the first trainset was delivered to the NCRTC in May 2022. Along with the existing Delhi–Meerut corridor, these trains will run on all the three upcoming RRTS corridors, including the Ghaziabad–Jewar corridor.
The NCRTC has decided to equip all the four upcoming RRTS corridors, along with the Meerut Metro, Noida Metro extension and the proposed Noida Film City light rail corridor with ETCS L2 signalling, one of the most advanced signalling systems used in Europe. Tenders for its procurement to install in this corridor are yet to be invited likely from Alstom, who was also awarded the contract worth approximately in January 2021 to supply the systems for the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System. All operations and trains will be controlled by RapidX in its operations control centre (OCC) on both sides of the corridor, as it will have two OCCs to look after the operations.[32] [33]
To cater the projected mass increase in traffic along the RRTS' route after its completion, the NCRTC has made provisions in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) to add ten more metro stations in the YEIDA City section, of which there will be one RRTS and nine metro stations, and operate the metro services on RRTS infrastructure as a single integrated corridor, like that of Meerut Metro in the Delhi–Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System. The provisions have been made in view of catering the traffic of the upcoming YEIDA City and to and from the under-construction Noida International Airport in Jewar. In addition, two types of trains will also be provided–one will operate at a faster speed of about and stop on limited stations, and the other will travel at normal speed of about and stop at all RRTS stations.[7] A long-term future plan has also been made to extend the corridor southwards along the Yamuna Expressway from YEIDA City before it turns towards Jewar Airport, till possibly Mathura or Agra, so to further integrate those cities and adjoining regions closely with the National Capital Region (NCR).[35]