NCRTC plans emergency exits at 16 locations across RRTS route

Ghaziabad: The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which has undertaken the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project linking Delhi, Ghaziabad and Meerut with high-speed trains, has planned an emergency evacuation system (EES) for passengers. Sources on Friday said that the EES will be available in 16 locations across the 82-kilometre corridor for the safe exit of passengers in case of any emergency situation.

The ₹30,274 crore RRTS project has a deadline of June 2025. It will involve the operation of high-speed trains with a design speed of 180 kilometres per hour (kmph) and an average operating speed of 160kmph and will cater to about 800,000 passengers on a daily basis.

A 17-km-long fully-elevated ‘priority’ section of the project is scheduled to open next year and it will be the country’s first RRTS stretch to commence passenger operations. The trial run of train-sets on the ‘priority’ section has been scheduled for December.

“The safety of passengers is paramount in mass transit systems. While keeping this in mind, we have planned the EES, which will be provided at 16 locations on the elevated corridor of the RRTS project and six of them will be on the ‘priority’ section in Ghaziabad. We will have RRTS stations every five-six kilometres. In case, there is an emergency situation and passengers need to be evacuated, it will be done through the EES. It involves construction of staircases, ramps and even footbridges,” said Puneet Vats, NCRTC chief public relations officer.

NCRTC officials said that the RRTS project has a 70-km elevated section, while the rest is underground at two locations in Delhi and Meerut.

“For the underground sections, we have made provision of EES after every 250 metres inside the tunnels. The EES will help passengers reach the ground level from elevated as well as underground sections,” Vats added.

The entire 82-km RRTS project will have 25 stations with 22 of them in Uttar Pradesh and also includes five stations as part of the ‘priority’ section.

NCRTC officials added that the six exit points as part of EES on the ‘priority’ section in Ghaziabad will be located near Sahibabad, near the Hindon elevated road, between Ghaziabad city RRTS station and Guldhar station and between Guldhar and Duhai stations. There will be two exit points each between Ghaziabad city RRTS station and Guldhar station and between Guldhar and Duhai stations.

According to officials, the average height of the elevated corridor of the RRTS project ranges from 8.5 metres to 22.5 metres, while the average depth of underground tunnels is about 10-15 metres.

The NCRTC has planned the operation of 30 high-speed trains which will have an average running speed of 100kmph.