NCR Proposed Transport Plan

The NCR Planning Board had prepared a Functional Plan on Transport for National Capital Region with perspective year 2032, which is an Integrated Multimodal Transport Plan (IMTP). The Functional Plan was prepared after review of demand and supply of transport infrastructure in NCR. The Functional Plan was approved by the NCR Planning Board in November 2009. The Plan recommended an Integrated Multi-Modal Transportation System for NCR to improve the mobility of both people and goods. It also recommended systematic development of the Transport System for fast and efficient movement of traffic, particularly for commuter traffic and to achieve sustainable development of the region. The Plan comprises the following components:

The Plan was circulated for implementation to NCR participating State Governments in July 2010, February 2011 and December 2011. It was also circulated to the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in February 2011 and in January 2012.

Objective

Objectives of the Transport Plan are: (i) to provide an efficient and economical rail- and road-based transportation system (including mass transport systems) well-integrated with the landuse patterns to support balanced regional development; (ii) to provide accessibility to all parts of the region and discourage transit of passengers and goods through the core area of NCT-Delhi by constructing Peripheral Expressways/ bypasses and thereby opening new areas for economic development; (iii) to provide a suitable public transport system in NCR to shift people from private transport to public transport, and (iv) to reduce vehicular air pollution.

Existing NCR transport system

The transport system of NCR consists of a good road network and rail corridors catering to intra-city, inter-city commuters and long-distance traffic. The freight traffic is also substantial in the region which is mainly carried by road. NCR has a road network of about 36,305 km; a large bus fleet of 58,300 buses (registered in NCR), a rail network of more than 1000 km; and an International Airport in Delhi.

Road Network

The existing road transport network is ‘radial’ in nature. It comprises Expressways, National Highways, State Highways, Major District Roads and Other District Roads. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways vide notification no. S.O.542(E) dated 05.03.2010 rationalized the numbering system of National Highways in India. The revised numbers as well as old number are given in the following table. The old numbers of National Highways are popular and recognizable.

Rail System

Indian Railways

The NCR rail network falls under three zonal railways (Northern, North-Western and North-Central) and five divisions. Six rail corridors converge to Delhi and three rail corridors converge to Ghaziabad. The zone-wise rail corridors are as under:

Intermediate Public Transport System (IPTS)

A large number of auto-rickshaws and taxis operate in cities and towns within NCR. On an average, an auto rickshaw carries 96 passengers per day and other vehicles like RTVs carry 114 passengers per day in NCR. The Intermediate Public Transport System (IPTS) suffers from many constraints like lack of terminal facilities, technological obsolescence, uneconomical fares, parking etc. There is an urgent need to facilitate growth and operation of IPTS within the NCR for providing last mile connectivity with MRTS, RRTS and Bus System.

Air Transport

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is the major airport in NCR. In terms of traffic volume, it is second to Mumbai, and handles annually about 35.88 million passengers and 0.56 million tonnes of cargo traffic (2011–12). Presently it has three operational runways with a peak hour handling capacity of 75 aircraft movements. There are three separate terminal areas for domestic passengers, international passengers, and cargo. The international passenger traffic at Delhi airport is 30% of the total passenger traffic. However, the international cargo traffic is 65% of the total cargo traffic. The Airport connects 60 destinations all over the globe through 51 international airlines. Of the passenger traffic, about 76% was generated within NCTD, 19% in NCR (excluding NCTD) and 5% beyond NCR (2007). Besides, it is expected to handle a large quantity of cargo on commissioning of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), Delhi is the only commercial airport serving NCR. It is the second biggest in the country, handling a passenger traffic of 35.88 million and cargo traffic of 0.56 million tonnes, per annum. IGIA development, operation and management have been privatized. Air traffic is increasing at a high rate and it is estimated that Delhi airport would handle 82.7 million passengers by 2026. Based on the future growth of International Air traffic, a second International Airport in NCR may be developed.

Meerut Airport

Meerut Airport aka B.R. Ambedkar Airport is situated at Partapur 9 km south of Meerut, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The airstrip, spread across 47 acres, is used for unscheduled flights. It has been suggested that the airport be upgraded as a second airport for Delhi. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had proposed the development of the airport to provide better air connectivity in the western parts of the state, which had already been assessed for up-gradation to cater to scheduled operations. Union civil aviation minister Ajit Singh had urged the State government to handover the airstrip and an additional 427 acres to AAI for development. AAI presented a master plan to the state government in April 2012 seeking the transfer of the airstrip and additional land free of cost and free from all encumbrances. The state had earlier planned to build a new airport of international standard on same location. The state government had issued a notice for appointing a consultant to prepare a comprehensive feasibility project report, a bid document and the concession agreement for the proposed airport. The project would be implemented through public-private partnership on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.

The State Government decided to have an international airport at Meerut based on a study conducted on the area’s traffic density. Following this, the ministry of civil aviation gave its in-principle approval. The need for a second airport on the fringes of the national capital region has been a long-standing demand of the Uttar Pradesh government, especially in view of the burgeoning air traffic at Delhi airport. The proposed airport will not only cater to the industrial towns of western Uttar Pradesh but would also be of immense relief to neighbouring Uttarakhand.

Transport plan for NCR

Road System

Expressways, Regional Arterial and Regional Sub-Arterial Roads

Road Network forms the main component of Functional Plan on Transport for NCR-2032. A hierarchical classification comprising Regional Expressways, Regional Arterials, Regional Sub-Arterials, Regional Collectors / Distributors and Regional Access Roads is proposed. An extensive Regional Expressway Network extending over a length of 1107 km is proposed. At the second level, the existing radial National Highway corridors converging into Delhi and circular National Highways are proposed to be developed as part of Regional Arterials.

In addition to above, NHAI has recently proposed Delhi-Jaipur Expressway. On this Expressway, two spurs to connect Bhiwadi (38 km) and Jhajjar (25 km) are also proposed in NCR. The total length of Delhi-Jaipur Expressway in NCR including the two spurs will be 130 km. It is proposed to provide access to Behror from this expressway with a small spur. Government of Rajasthan has also proposed a 100 m wide link road of expressway standard between Neemrana and Bhiwadi. The proposed phase-wise programme for development of Regional Arterial roads in NCR is shown in Table. In case RoW is not available, elevated roads could be considered for increasing the number of lanes.

Regional Rail System

Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)

Commuter service is extremely important for movement of people within NCR. The rail-based inter- regional commuter demand is estimated to be 1.7 million passengers per day by 2032. An extensive commuter network designated as Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) is proposed with dedicated electrified tracks using modern signal and communication systems to enable safe, high speed and high frequency services.

Orbital Rail Corridor

In view of recommendations of the Functional Plan on Transport for NCR-2032, the earlier Orbital Corridor proposed in Regional Plan for NCR-2021 has been revised and following two Orbital Rail corridors have been proposed: i. Regional Orbital Rail Corridor (RORC) ii. Inner Regional Orbital Rail Corridor (IRORC)

Regional Orbital Rail Corridor (RORC)

The Regional Orbital Rail Corridor (RORC) connecting Panipat-Rohtak-Jhajjar-Rewari-Palwal-Khurja- Hapur-Meerut-Panipat enables movement of passenger and goods at the regional level avoiding Delhi Area. In this corridor Panipat-Meerut, Palwal-Khurja & Palwal-Bhiwadi-Rewari are new rail lines. The survey work of both the lines has been completed. The Rohtak-Jhajjar-Rewari rail line is commissioned. Meerut-Khurja and Rohtak-Gohana-Panipat Corridors are existing corridors. RORC also interconnects the Regional Centers which would increase their accessibility and potential for growth.

Inner Regional Orbital Rail Corridor (IRORC)

In addition to RORC, five other rail lines within NCR are proposed to strengthen the connectivity of the rail system which will form Inner Regional Orbital Rail Corridor (IRORC). They are Sonepat-Jhajjar, Jhajjar-Gurgaon, Gurgaon-Faridabad, Faridabad-Dadri and Meerut-Baghpat-Sonepat. Dadri-Ghaziabad- Meerut corridor is existing corridor. Moreover, Dadri-Ghaziabad and Ghaziabad-Meerut are also part of RRTS Corridors.

Other New Rail Line

The Sonepat-Gohana-Jind rail line has been proposed to connect Jind. This line is already sanctioned and is under execution. The corridor-wise estimated passenger loading excluding freight traffic with implementation phasing of RORC, IRORC and new rail line is shown in Table

See also

• Meerut Airport
• National Capital Region Transport Corporation

References

External links

• http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Draft%20Revised%20Regional%20plan.pdf
• ncrpb.nic.in/transport.php
• www.rgplan.org/regional-plan-of-up/Regional_Plan_of_NCR_2021.pdf
• http://ncrpb.nic.in/pdf_files/Functional%20Plan%20on%20Transport%20for%20NCR-2032.pdf