RRTS (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Infrastructure)

Context: The Supreme Court came down heavily on the Delhi government for spending around ?1,100 crore on advertisements in three years but throwing up its hands when it came to contributing its share for the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS).

Regional rapid transit system (RRTS)

• About: It is a new, dedicated, high speed, high capacity, comfortable commuter service connecting regional nodes in NCR.
• It is different from conventional Railway as it will provide reliable, high frequency, point to point regional travel at high speed along dedicated path way.
• It is different from metro as it caters to passengers looking to travel a relatively longer distance with fewer stops and at higher speed.

• Key features:

• Speed: Design speed - 180 km/h, Operational speed - 160 km/h, Average speed of 100 km/h.
• Three times the speed of Metro.
• Aerodynamic trains with airline-like transverse seating arrangements: In general, the train aerodynamics are related to aerodynamic drag, pressure variations inside train, train-induced flows, cross-wind effects, ground effects, pressure waves inside tunnel, impulse waves at the exit of tunnel, noise and vibration, etc.
• Interoperability: Trains will move from one corridor to another, facilitating commuter travel from one corridor station to another without train changes.
• Multimodal integration: It will be integrated with various modes of public transport systems like airports, Indian Railway stations, inter-state bus terminals, and Delhi Metro stations, wherever possible.