A high-speed rail network, which will connect all four states including Delhi, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan including a number of IT services and industrial hubs, has recently secured ₹1,209 crore to kick start the work. The National Capital Region's (NCR) stretching across 58,000 sqkm recorded the fastest pace of urbanization and economic growth in the country. The NCR Planning Body (NCRPB), which comes under the Union urban development ministry, has already completed detailed project and on commissioning it will become the largest rail transport project in India, requiring an investment of ₹1 lakh crore. Recently, NCRTC invited tender for constructing the track and railway stations on its first to-be operational route connecting Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, a 92.6-km stretch of the total 300 km, to be covered under phase-1 of the project. On completion, the 92.6-km stretch with 26 stations between Delhi and Meerut, would take a travel time of 62 minutes, said group general manager, NCRTC, Sudhir Kumar Sharma. The other two routes to be covered under phase-1 are Delhi-Gurgaon-Rewari-Alwar (180 km) and Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat (111 km). For completion of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut route, the Uttar Pradesh government has already committed ₹250 crore, while the Centre has allocated ₹659 crore, he added.
