The first semi-high-speed regional rail service - RAPIDX - will make its inaugural run on Saturday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor at the Sahibabad RAPIDX station in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.
The 17-km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, which will be inaugurated, will connect Sahibabad to Duhai Depot through stations at Ghaziabad, Guldhar and Duhai. The RRTS is a new rail-based, semi-high-speed, high-frequency commuter transit system with a design speed of 180 kmph.
"A day after the inauguration of the priority section, passenger services will begin from October 21 morning. RAPIDX trains will be operational between 6 am and 11 pm. Initially, trains will be available every 15 minutes, though the frequency can be increased on a requirement basis in the future," an official source told PTI on Tuesday.
Premium coach
Inside view of a train at the Sahibabad RAPIDX station | PTI
Every RAPIDX train will have six coaches, including a premium coach. One coach in every train is reserved for women. Besides, there will be seats reserved for seats for women, specially-abled, and senior citizens in other coaches.
Every premium coach will have colour-coded seats, provision for installing a vending machine, reclining seats, coat hooks, magazine holders and footrests.
The trains will also have a facility for the transfer of patients, as one general coach in each train will have the space to accommodate a medical stretcher and a wheelchair. The lifts installed at its stations are elongated for extra room to accommodate a stretcher.
Safety features
CCTV cameras, an emergency door-opening mechanism and a button to communicate with a train operator are among the safety features in trains that will ply on this section from October 21. Every RRTS station is equipped with platform screen doors which are integrated with RRTS train doors and the signalling system.
Doors are equipped with a push-button facility allowing passengers to board and get off the train when it halts at a station. The push button only gets activated after a train comes to a halt at a station.
The door operation in coaches will be done automatically, and train attendants and ground staff will assist passengers till they fully get used to this system.
Every coach has about six CCTV cameras besides an emergency door-opening mechanism, a button -- Passenger Emergency Communication Units -- to talk to a train operator in case of a health emergency or other kind of emergency, and fire extinguishers.
There will be an emergency exit but the mechanism is only supposed to be operated by a train attendant onboard a RAPIDX train. A train attendant will be present in a premium coach of a train, but he or she can roam around in other coaches as well. These attendants can be approached in case of an emergency.
Commuters can use the direct 'Help Call Point' at the concourse or platform level to get in touch with station authorities in the event of an emergency. Passengers can also avail emergency support via the RAPIDX Connect mobile application.
Staff at work at a RAPIDX station in Ghaziabad | PTI
Ticket rate, travel time
For the travel between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot stations, the fare will be Rs 50 while for premium coach it is Rs 100. If a passenger enters from one station, say Sahibabad station and exits from the same station, then it will cost Rs 20.
Children having a height below 90 cm will be allowed to travel free.
There will be paper QR code-based tickets that can either be generated from a vending machine or brought over the counter at RAPIDX stations, officials said. Unified Payments Interface or UPI-enabled ticket vending machines have been installed to purchase paper QR code-based tickets and recharge the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC).
Passengers can use bank notes, bank cards, National Common Mobility Cards and UPI to buy tickets from a TVM, they said.
The RRTS corridor, once fully operational would cut down the travel time between Delhi and Meerut to around 55 minutes from the current three to four hours by road. Trains move on the priority section at a speed up to 130-140 kmph. Though it can run up to 160 kmph, the operational speed will be lesser. People can commute between Sahibabad and Duhai Depot stations on this line in about 12 minutes.
(With PTI inputs)
