New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS): Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Tuesday asked the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) to conduct an independent audit of the entire Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) plan to evaluate the on ground feasibility of the project and ensure that the passengers in different modes travel seamlessly.
"It is a matter of great pride that Delhi is being developed as a hub for transport. Inspite of the high density and restricted land availability, we are able to explore and optimise land usage without compromising vehicular movement. To us, pedestrian and passenger safety and convenience is the highest priority and the NCRTC has been advised to conduct an independent audit for pedestrian and commuter safety and circulation within and around the stations," he said after holding a review meeting to check on the progress of the project.
The minister further said that the Delhi government will ensure all support and cooperation so that Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan can be developed as transport hubs for public comfort and convenience and ensure passengers in different modes travel seamlessly.
The construction of these stations mostly uses precast elements, so there is less disturbance to the existing traffic flow.
The RRTS is anticipated to take about 1 lakh vehicles off the roads, hence decongesting the major roads in Delhi.
The corridors would also be beneficial for the development of the region and will help connect a large number of townships and centres of economic activity that are already planned along this corridor.
All the three corridors of RRTS, namely Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat converge at Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi. The Anand Vihar station, which is an underground station, is also designed as a multi-modal hub and connects Anand Vihar railway station, Blue Line of Metro, Anand Vihar ISBT and also Kaushambi.
Multi-modal integration (MMI) with other modes of transport is a major aspect of these stations, especially the ones at Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar stations, which are crucial to ease traffic flow.