The project will run parallel to the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.
On Tuesday, the Meerut divisional commissioner met officials from the NCR Planning Board, UPSIDA, UPSRTC and GDA, where HRIDC submitted a draft of the project.
The corporation has sought Rs 1.5 crore to prepare the feasibility report, officials said.
The 270-km long orbital rail is proposed to run parallel to the Eastern and Western expressways and tap into the catchment areas in both UP and Haryana, ones that are not covered by the two expressways. It is proposed to have stations every 5km.
While Haryana has already created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the 121km section of the corridor that will pass through the state between Palwal and Sonipat, UP govt gave the go-ahead to prepare a feasibility report of the project in Jan. Around 90 km of the orbital rail project will pass through UP, of which, 59 km will be in Ghaziabad.
“The Haryana rail corporation, which is helming the western orbital rail project, has made significant progress in the state. So, it was natural for the corporation to volunteer to prepare the feasibility report for the eastern arm of the project. In the meeting, they shared a project draft,” a GDA official said.
Meerut Development Authority, the nodal agency for the project, shared specific requirements for the corridor in UP that will now be incorporated into the report.
Orbital rail is a part of the NCR Planning Board’s 2041 regional plan. Officials said the need to expedite the project is necessitated if the region is to emerge as a logistic hub in future.
“The corridor will be connected to the rapid rail corridor near Duhai. This will ensure that the entire NCR, including Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Noida and Greater Noida, is covered by the orbital rail, which is vital for freight and passenger movement. It will create a new freight corridor which, in a way, will be connected to the Dadri freight corridor,” the official added.
