NCRTC Invites Bids for Delhi – Meerut RRTS Line’s Construction

The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) this past week initiated the civil bidding process for the construction of the 92.05 km Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) line which in the future will have trains running at speeds of up to 160 kmph to bring end to end travel time down to 48 minutes.

In a tender notice published in local newspapers, bids have first been invited for the construction of two packages on the 18 km Ghaziabad (Sahibabad – Duhai) portion of the line, which will be entirely elevated with 4 stations at Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar and Duhai.

Notice Inviting Tenders – Package DM-01 and DM-02
Package-1 – Contract DM/C/01: Construction of elevated viaduct from start of elevated ramp near Sahibabad RRTS Station up to end of Ghaziabad RRTS Station [including special spans at ROB Crossing, Hindon River Crossing] and two Nos. of elevated RRTS Stations viz., Sahibabad and Ghaziabad [excluding Architectural Finishing & Roof structure of Stations] of Delhi – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit Systems (RRTS) Corridor.

Package-2 – Contract DM/C/02: Construction of elevated viaduct from end of Ghaziabad RRTS Station up to EPE crossing [including elevated Ramp for Duhai Depot] and two Nos. of Elevated RRTS Stations viz., Guldhar and Duhai [excluding Architectural Finishing & Roof structure of Stations] of Delhi – Meerut Regional Rapid Transit Systems (RRTS) Corridor.

Stations on this line are proposed to be an average of 5.4 km apart. Their exact locations haven’t been revealed to the public yet, and it appears that the Mohan Nagar Station has been dropped. In October 2017, an additional station at New Ashok Nagar (abutting Noida) was added to connect up with Delhi Metro’s Blue Line.

Rough alignment of the Ghaziabad section –

Ghaziabad section of Delhi – Meerut RRTS line – view RRTS Information & Map

The tender notification hasn’t been uploaded on NCRTC’s website yet. As per the newspaper notice, tender documents will be on sale between February 26 and April 16 (12 noon) after which the bids will be opened and first evaluated for eligibility at 3 pm. More info (estimated cost, duration) will be added here when the complete online notice is available.

Feb 26 Update – tender notices are now available online – Package 1 & Package 2. Package 1 estimate: Rs 488 crores and Package 2 estimate: Rs 568 crores. NCRTC would like work on both to be completed in 910 days.

Back in December 2017, the NCRTC had held a meeting with interested bidders. Here are some notes from their powerpoint slides, some of which might be dated –

• Package-1’s length is 7.3 km and is estimated to cost Rs 550 crores
• Package-2’s length is 10.7 km and is estimated to cost Rs. 650 crores
• Appointed contractors will have 30 months to complete civil work
• Elevated stations will be built using I-giders / Segment box girders / In-situ etc on a single pier/portal structure
• Most of the alignment is on the median of road except at few locations for which interaction with the concerned departments for securing right of way are in progress
• Interaction with various authorities/department for clearance and relocation of various utilities such as power lines, electrical installation, water/sewage/gas & oil pipelines are in progress
• In principle approval for construction accorded by many such authorities
• A consortium of French, Spanish and Indian Consultants has been engaged by NCRTC as detailed design consultants for Sahibabad-Duhai section of RRTS corridor. Detailed engineering is in progress.
• Final location survey of the alignment has commenced
• Geotechnical investigations from Sahibabad to Ghaziabad are almost completed and that in Ghaziabad to Duhai are in progress

The line’s detailed design consultants mentioned above are Egis Rail – INECO – Egis India, who were appointed in August 2017.

Earlier this month,  the union budget for 2018-19 included an allocation of Rs 659 crores for the entire system, while the Uttar Pradesh budget for 2018-19 included an allocation of Rs 250 crores specifically for this line. While the UP and Central governments’ approvals were received in 2017, the Delhi Government is yet to accord its approval. Whenever that is done and the section’s design is prepared, bids are expected to be invited for two packages –

1. Sarai Kale Khan – New Ashok Nagar (elevated, 7 km) with 2 elevated stations at Sarai Kale Khan (Nizamuddin) & New Ashok Nagar, and a bridge over the Yamuna River
2. New Ashok Nagar – Anand Vihar (underground, 9.5 km) with 1 underground station at Anand Vihar

For more updates, check out the NCR RRTS section of The Metro Rail Guy!

– TMRG

Hat tip to Nikhilesh Senapati & Kanishka Khokhar