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 In a mega boost for the 82-km-long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS), the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has awarded the contract worth Rs 910 crore to design, supply and install the signalling, train and telecommunication system to French railway giant Alstom.

The NCRTC is implementing RRTS, a first-of-its-kind semi-high-speed rail line which will reduce the journey time between Delhi and Meerut to just 60 minutes, compared to the current 90-100 minutes, and with a maximum speed of 160 kmph.

"As leaders in digital mobility, we are thrilled to receive this contract and provide India's first-ever line with the future proof signalling system. Alstom sees huge potential for the technology in the Indian market. We are looking forward to deploying our advanced technologies in a bid to revamp the mainline railway landscape," said Ling Fang, Senior Vice President of Alstom Asia Pacific.

The officials said that Alstom's scope of work includes design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of Signalling and Train Control, supervision, platform screen doors and telecommunication systems for the corridor.

"This line will be the first in India to adopt the European Train Control System (ETCS) hybrid Level 3 signalling system, which is the core signalling and train control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)," Alstom said in a statement.

In October last year, Alstom became the first company in the world to be fully certified for the latest onboard and trackside ETCS 1 standards.

It further said that a key feature of the RRTS is interoperability of all its priority corridors which facilitates seamless commuter movement across the corridors, without the hassle of changing trains for passengers.

"ETCS signalling system will not only facilitate interoperability but will also ensure train movement at quick frequencies, thus reducing the waiting time for passengers," it said.

The contract marks a world premiere for the combination of the latest ETCS standard supported by the latest digital Interlocking and Automatic Train Operation (ATO) over Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio. The integrated platform screen door solution will also provide utmost safety to passengers, the company said.

Alstom's Atlas ERTMS Level 2 and hybrid Level 3 are digital signalling solutions that allows trains to run at higher speeds without physical lineside signals. The company is a major supplier of onboard and trackside ETCS equipment via this solution, representing 70 per cent of the world's onboard rail systems in service and 18,000 kilometres of tracks worldwide.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS is an 82.15-km-long, under-construction, semi-high speed rail corridor connecting Delhi with Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. It will have a total of 24 stations and will be elevated for around 70.5 kms while 11.5 kms will be underground.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor will have two depots, one at Duhai and Modipuram both in Uttar Pradesh.