RRTS integration plan: Sarai Kale Khan station to get 40-car pick-up, drop hub

The Sarai Kale Khan RRTS station will have a dedicated pick-up and drop-off zone under its elevated structure, which will be able to accommodate more than 40 vehicles and a city bus interchange point, where over 15 buses can be parked at the same time, officials aware of the development said on Saturday.
Once completed, passengers will be able to enter the station after a short walk through segregated pedestrian pathways, after they get off the vehicles, without facing any motorised vehicle. This comes as part of the multi-modal integration plan of the Namo Bharat train at Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar stations, which are being built as transit hubs. The Sarai Kale Khan station is located close to the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, Delhi Metro’s pink line station, Veer Haqeeqat Rai ISBT, city bus depot and the Ring Road that are all planned to be integrated at the Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) station, the officials of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) added.
“Due to its strategic location, lakhs of passengers are expected to utilise this upcoming mega transport hub. To facilitate their travel and ensure easy movement in and around the RRTS station, NCRTC is creating a people-friendly ecosystem with the provision of dedicated pick-up and drop-off zones, pedestrian-friendly pathways, foot overbridge (FOB) and travelators,” said a spokesperson of NCRTC.
With such infrastructure being planned, commuters will not need to cross the road or face traffic to change modes of travel. Most intercity buses now pick and drop commuters along the roadside at the Sarai Kale Khan bus stop, the spokesperson added.
“Often due to a lack of designated space, commercial and personal vehicles have to drop off passengers on the road. It disrupts traffic movement, leading to persistent congestion in the area and makes it unsafe for commuters. Lack of planned, seamless connectivity forces them to cross roads amid heavy traffic, risking their lives and creating traffic congestion as well,” added the spokesperson.
Officials said that the Sarai Kale Khan station was designed so that it will be seamlessly connected with other existing modes of public transport, including bus stand, railway station and Metro station. Expecting heavy footfall, NCRTC has also designed five entry and exit gates at the station with multiple staircases, lifts and escalators.
The largest RRTS station, spanning 215 metres in length, 50 metres in width and 15 metres in height, Sarai Kale Khan will have 14 lifts and 18 escalators. An FOB with six travelators is also being constructed to connect the RRTS station with the railway station, which is 280 metres apart. The under-construction Sarai Kale Khan station is on the 82-km long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor and will also be the interchange station for the next two planned RRTS lines.
The 14-km stretch of RRTS in Delhi includes the Sarai Kale Khan, New Ashok Nagar and Anand Vihar RRTS stations. The Delhi section of the RRTS corridor features a 9km elevated stretch and a 5km underground stretch. Currently, tracks-laying activities and overhead electrification installation are in progress, officials added.
Currently, the Namo Bharat train services are being operated on eight stations over a 34km stretch from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad to Modi Nagar North in Meerut on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor. The Delhi section is expected to be operational by mid-2025.