Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday to request the extension of the Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor from Modi Puram in Meerut to Haridwar. At the same meeting, Dhami also pressed for the development of a separate Dehradun-Haridwar-Rishikesh metro corridor. The twin proposals, if approved, could create an unbroken rapid rail link stretching from Delhi all the way to the Himalayan foothills.
Currently, the Namo Bharat train operates between Sarai Kale Khan station in Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut. The new corridor would begin at Modipuram and extend northward, running broadly parallel to National Highway 58.
The corridor is expected to pass through several strategically important stops:
- Modipuram, Meerut as the originating junction on the city's northern edge
- Daurala-Sakauti, an established industrial and educational belt
- Khatauli near Muzaffarnagar, serving as a key linkage point
- Purkazi, situated close to the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border
- Roorkee, home to IIT Roorkee and a significant academic centre
- Jwalapur, Haridwar, serving as a key tourism-linked station
- Rishikesh, India's adventure and yoga capital, as the terminal station
What It Would Mean
Should the project receive the green light, the benefits are expected to be wide-ranging:
- Modipuram would become the principal junction between the Delhi and Haridwar routes, triggering considerable commercial activity in the area
- Muzaffarnagar is expected to emerge as a preferred destination for industrial townships and warehousing
- Roorkee would see a notable boost in student housing and paying-guest accommodation
- Demand for holiday homes and service apartments in Haridwar and Rishikesh could surge by as much as 200 per cent
- The journey from Delhi to Rishikesh could be reduced to just two-and-a-half to three hours, fundamentally shifting tourism patterns towards rental villas and homestays
- Delhi-NCR residents may begin preferring second homes near Haridwar or Rishikesh over those in Meerut or Muzaffarnagar
Observers note that this project is conceived less as a conventional transit link and more as a full-fledged economic corridor, one that could fundamentally alter the development geography of the Delhi-Meerut-Haridwar belt.
Challenges Ahead
The proposal faces formidable obstacles that will need to be addressed before any construction can begin:
- The stretch between Roorkee and Rishikesh passes through Rajaji National Park and ecologically sensitive zones, where laying tracks would require stringent environmental clearances and potentially lengthy regulatory approvals
- Land acquisition along NH-58 presents a serious concern, with property prices in the corridor already at record highs, a factor likely to push project costs considerably higher
- The hilly terrain near Rishikesh would necessitate elevated tracks or tunnelling, adding both complexity and significant expense
If a broad consensus is reached between stakeholders, the proposal would be referred to the Central Government, the Uttar Pradesh Government, and NCRTC for detailed consideration and the next steps.
