Greening Public Transit: Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor To Be Equipped With Rooftop Solar

All 24 stations on the 82-km-long Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor will be equipped with rooftop solar panels.

The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has already taken significant strides in this initiative, having installed a solar capacity of approximately 3 MW across platform sheds at Sahibabad, Guldhar, Duhai, the Duhai Depot Station, and the Duhai workshop. This capacity will cater to the auxiliary load requirements of these locations.

Further, solar panels will be installed at the remaining stations of the RRTS corridor progressively. Collectively, these panels, put together, will generate 11 MW of power, constituting a substantial portion of the energy needed to operate trains along the route.

In March 2021, the NCRTC adopted a solar policy, with the goal of generating around 11 MW peak solar power across its stations, depots, and other facilities for both traction and non-traction purposes over the next five years.

At Sahibabad station, a solar power plant boasting a total capacity of 729 kW (kilowatt) has been established, equipped with 1,620 high-efficiency solar panels. Meanwhile, the solar plant at the Duhai Depot Station features 320 solar panels with an installed capacity of 108 kW.

Popularly known as Namo Bharat, the Regional Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) is a new rail-based system with a designed speed potential of 180 kmph and operational speed potential of 160 kmph, making them semi-high speed train sets.

The 82.15-km-long rail based system from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Modipuram in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh is the country's first RRTS. In October 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Namo Bharat train between Sahibabad to Duhai.

Trials are currently underway for the additional 25 km stretch beyond Duhai to Meerut South RRTS station, and soon the Namo Bharat trains will be operational on this section as well.