Delhi-Meerut RRTS update: NCRTC signs MoU with SECI to harness blended renewable energy for RRTS

In line with its vision to improve the quality of life of people, NCRTC has signed MoU with SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India) on 16th June, 2021 to harness blended renewable energy for RRTS. MOU has provisions to explore possible opportunities in electric/ transformative mobility, Hydrogen based economy, and other alternative sources of fuels and energy.

  • MoU was signed in presence of Shri Jatindra Nath Swain IAS, Secretary (Fisheries), GOI & CMD/SECI, Shri Vinay Kumar Singh, Managing Director/NCRTC and Shri Mahendra Kumar, Director (E&RS)/NCRTC along with other senior officials of NCRTC and SECI.
  • NCRTC, as part of its Energy Management Policy, intends to maximize the use of blended renewable energy such as solar power etc. for meeting full energy requirements of NCRTC. 
  • SECI, being an industry leader, will help in arranging blended renewable energy to NCRTC round the clock at affordable rates for Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor and cooperation to extend the same for other future corridors.
  • Use of clean energy, through this association will ensure reduction in expenditure on electricity and significantly lesser CO2 emissions, which is essential for sustainable development.
  • This cooperation is a part of NCRTC’s long term strategy to make RRTS and NCRTC financially as well as environmentally sustainable.

NCRTC is adopting following measures also for energy efficiency in India’s first RRTS corridor:

  • All elevated RRTS stations and depots will be provided with solar panels.
  • NCRTC is targeting to generate minimum 10 MW of renewable energy.
  • 40% of the total energy requirement of Delhi Meerut RRTS corridor is targeted to be procured/generated from renewable energy.
  • RRTS rolling stock will be provided with a state-of-the-art regenerative braking system which converts the train’s kinetic energy into electrical energy.
  • Regenerative braking will result in reduced wear and tear of wheels, brake pads and other associated moving brake-gear parts of rolling stock resulting in significantly less consumption of these spare part/items during train maintenance life cycle which again will result in substantial reduction in CO2 emission which otherwise would have been generated in the manufacturing and supply chain process of these spare parts/items.
  • RRTS trains will have push buttons for selective opening of doors on a need basis.
  • This eliminates the requirement of opening all doors at every station, thus leading to energy saving. 
  • RRTS rolling stock will have lighting and temperature control systems to enhance the passenger experience with less energy consumption.
  • All RRTS stations and their premises, depot, office spaces and trains will be equipped with energy-saving LED lights.
  • Platform Screen Doors will be installed at every RRTS station that will help in saving significant energy consumption in underground stations.

Project Update:

Meanwhile, the construction of the launching shaft commenced on 13.06.2021 in Anand Vihar, Delhi for Tunnelling work.

  • The first Diaphragm Wall (D-Wall) panel reinforcement cage of size of about 20 m deep (equal to height of a 10-storey building) and 5 m wide was lowered and concreted.
  • With this milestone, construction of the underground section for RRTS has entered the next stage.
  • D-wall acts as a shield or frame to balance the earth pressure, thereby reducing the possibility of soil collapse and also prevents water seepage during excavation.
  • This Launching Shaft is 20 m long and 16 m wide, located at the South side of Anand Vihar underground RRTS station.

Tunnels:

  • Two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) will be lowered in this shaft to bore RRTS twin tunnels from Anand Vihar towards Sarai Kale Khan.
  • The total drive of these two TBM machines will be around 3 Kms.
  • It will be the longest tunnel section between any two stations amongst the available Metro Systems in the country.
  • An air ventilation shaft will be constructed in between this large section connecting both sides of tunnels, for ensuring safety of passengers during any emergency.
  • Emergency evacuation facility for passengers is also being constructed to facilitate safe exit of passengers from tunnels, in a rare eventuality requiring evacuation.
  • Parallelly, construction of north tunnel launching shaft will start soon to bore twin-tunnels of more than 2 kms length from Anand Vihar towards Meerut.
  • These tunnels will be of higher diameter as compared to that of Metro systems in the country due to larger rolling stock and higher design speed of 180 Kmph in case of RRTS.
  • The internal clear diameter of these tunnels is 6.5 m to reduce the air pressure and discomfort to passengers, due to generation of shock waves in tunnels because to higher speed of these trains.

About Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor:

  • The Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor is approximately 82 km long corridor with 25 stations, which will cover the distance from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Modipuram in Meerut in about 60 minutes (Currently, it takes around 3 hours to commute from Delhi to Meerut).
  • The total project completion cost of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is about INR 30274 Crore.
  • RRTS is a rail based high-speed transit system with a design speed of 180 kmph and an average speed of 100 kmph.
  • Once operational, it will be the fastest, most comfortable and safest mode of commuter transport in NCR.

Project Status:

The Project was sanctioned by the Government of India in March 2019. On 8th March 2019, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India laid the Foundation Stone of India’s first regional rail.

The details of current status of this corridor is provided below:-

  • The construction of Delhi–Ghaziabad–Meerut corridor is progressing on schedule.
  • Contracts for all the major packages have been awarded and the prototype RRTS trainset is expected to be delivered by Dec’2021.
  • Project work for priority section of Duhai to Sahibabad of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor is progressing on schedule with following developments:
    • Construction of civil infrastructure including piles, pile caps, piers, viaduct and station work is on full swing.
    • Construction of RSS at Muradnagar has started for feeding the priority section including Duhai Depotc.
    • Land for Duhai Depot has already been acquired and depot infrastructure construction has started.
    • Contract has been awarded for most of the system packages like Rolling Stock, Signalling & Telecom, Track, Traction and OHE etc.
    • Possession of Land allotted by Government of India for stabling yard in Delhi.

Source: NCRTC-Press Release